


A World Unseen

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 07:25:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 53
Words: 179,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1460821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life has never been normal, but when he makes the move to Amity Park, Danny finally feels like he has found some place where he belongs. But can he protect his friends from a looming threat?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Back between 2004-2005, I wrote a story called New Kid at Casper High, but when I got back into Danny Phantom, I decided to rewrite the entire story virtually from scrape and going in a new direction. The original story always had that rushed feeling to it, and I wanted to flesh everything out a lot more.
> 
> So warning, this thing is a bit of a monster in length.

It wasn't the first time. In all honesty, he should be used to it, but it never failed to amaze him the crap that some students put the "new kid" through on the first day. He would have been happy to simply stay home, a sign of rebellion against his parents, but his mother forcibly dragged him out of their new house and carted him off to yet another new school where he would be forced to survive the "new kid" stigma once more. A heavy sigh escaped him as he stared into his locker, the shredded remains of what were once his textbooks filling the small space with a few tattered bits of paper floating to the tiled floor like snowflakes. What possessed someone to do this? Did they really have to ruin all of his textbooks? He groaned at the thought of making a visit to the front office of the school to inquire about replacements. His parents would probably be furious after receiving a phone call about the incident and likely the cost of buying new books to replace the ruined ones. It wasn't his fault! But he would end up taking the blame for it. He couldn't prove who the culprit was, though he had a very good idea who did it.

 _At least this should be the last time_ , Danny thought as he slammed the locker shut. It was his senior year. And really, his parents couldn't let him stay one more year at his old school before they decided to pick up and move, yet again, to a new town? He supposed he should count himself lucky that his parents stayed two years in the last town. He actually had the time to make friends, for once, but it felt like a part of him was ripped away when he had to leave them. Pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes, he wished he was back at his old school, back with his friends. His sister Jazz was lucky. He envied her so much at that moment. She was currently a sophomore in college, and the last time he saw her was when she left to move into her dorms her freshmen year. They spoke to each other through e-mails, but that was it. Jazz didn't want to come home. Ever. She always hated all the moving around, and Danny couldn't blame her. He hated it too. Now that she was finally in a stable environment, making friends and having fun, she didn't want to leave it. He would feel the same way if he was in her place, and right now, he really wished he was.

He wasn't exactly fitting in with this new school. Already, he had more than one run in with some of the school bullies, namely James Radcliffe, who Danny happened to suspect as the culprit behind his shredded textbooks. Earlier at lunch, James purposely tripped him, causing him to get coated in the sludge the school considered food. The lunch lady doled out each sloppy scope full with a kind smile, but the food smelled foul and possibly weeks old and rotting. While Danny tried to clean the greenish glop from his face, the cafeteria filled with laughter, everyone pointing at the poor new kid. James wore a cruel, smug smirk at his deed. Danny rolled his eyes at the memory, thankful that he thought to bring a change of clothes. Past experiences told him to be prepared and expect situations like that one. It happened more than a few times his first year at his last school.

The incident only made him miss his friends all the more. Eating alone in the cafeteria was depressing. He kept looking for the familiar faces of Tucker and Sam then sighing miserably when he remembered they weren't here. Why couldn't he simply skip this year and jump immediately into college? He didn't feel like go through all this harassment again, even if it was the last time before settling into a college life like Jazz. Danny reached up, his hand closing around the strap around his throat, which was a sort of going away present from Sam. The fake morgue tag was a not so funny joke among him and his friends. Sam thought she would at least get a smile out of it. Danny tried, but the memory of the incident that occurred only seven months ago was still as fresh and vivid in his memory as the night it happened. He wished he could wipe it clear from his memory or make a joke out of it, but it hurt too much simply recalling it. Sleep was no comfort to him because every time he closed his eyes, he relieved the nightmare. But he wore the tag like a choker, turned inside out so that the details on the tag weren't visible, as if that somehow kept his friends with him when he was so far away from them. He rubbed his thumb over the back of the tag, like he could summon them here to him through the desperate desire to see them again.

"I see those jerks are still acting like totally jackasses to new students."

Danny managed not to jump at the voice. Not many people bothered to talk to him during the day, at least not in a friendly manner. He heard plenty of insults slung his way or rude whispers as he passed other students. "Yeah," he mumbled for lack of anything else to say as he turned to face the speaker.

The woman dressed in a fuzzy pink sweater and tight fitted jeans. She stood with one hand on a hip the jutted out to the side as she smiled. Danny gulped, wondering why such a pretty woman was talking to _him_. He was hardly the popular type. In fact, he was generally on the lowest tier of the popular scale. He was the kid always getting picked on by the jocks. His parents didn't exactly help with his social image. Everywhere they moved, he was immediately targeted as a weirdo with crazy parents who believed in the existence of things like ghosts and werewolves. His parents weren't simply nuts about the supernatural. They _hunted_ it. The whole decision behind their move was because his parents heard word, from a reliable source according to them, that this place Amity Park was a town booming with supernatural beings. His parents were thrilled with the news and started packing up their things at once. This wasn't the first time Danny wished his parents were normal.

"I'm Paulina." She stepped closer to him as she held out her hand to him.

Danny blinked, taken aback. Was she actually trying to make friends with him? This would be a first for him and completely threw out all he knew about the social hierarchy of high school. The pretty popular women didn't simply go around making friends with the losers! "Danny," he replied stiffly, forcing a smile onto his face. He stared at the hand outstretched before him with hesitation. Paulina tilted her head as she waited expectantly for him to shake her hand. Danny chewed on his lip, thinking quickly of what to do. He tugged the long sleeve of his white shirt until his hand was well hidden by it then shook her hand so that his flesh didn't come in contact with his skin.

Paulina blinked then laughed. "Well, that's a new way to greet someone!" Amusement danced in her green eyes, but Danny remained nervous about this encounter. Now he would be the weirdo with a germ phobia or something else to make him seem as crazy as his parents.

Danny's gaze darted to the clock hanging on the wall opposite of where they stood. "I'm going to be late to my next class." He sighed, shoulder drooping. "I hate math. Trigonometry is such a headache."

"Is your teacher Lancer?"

Danny hugged his arms around him as he watched the curiosity play across her face. If Sam and Tucker could see him now, they would hardly believe what they were seeing. Sam would probably grab him by the collar and drag him away from what she would call a "shallow, superficial bimbo." Tucker, on the other hand, would be rooting him on, if they were still in their sophomore year, or trying to get Danny to put in a good word for him. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he thought about his friends. "Yeah," he answered Paulina. "Please tell me he's not a horrible teacher."

"He can be a bit tough, but I think he just wants every student to reach their potential." Paulina reached a hand into her pocket. "I have this friend in that class. Could you give him something?" She handed a folded piece of paper to him. "He's blond and looks like a football player. You can't miss him." With a wave of her hand, she jogged down the hallway on her way to her next class.

"I'm not a messaging service!" Danny called after her but didn't think she heard him. Sighing, he turned his gaze to the note in his hand and read the name scrawled out in loopy writing on one side. "Dash Baxter?" Danny groaned. "Even his name sounds like a football player!" He hung his head as he stuffed the note into his pocket. After all his run ins with James, he wasn't looking forward to meeting with another football jock. This was his last class of the day, and he hoped he could avoid any further harassment. Apparently, that wasn't going to happen. When the bell rang, he hurried to his class.

"How nice of you to show up," Lancer drawled dully as he stared flatly at Danny the moment he stepped into the classroom. The middle aged man looked out of shape with a round belly hanging over his belt. His head was balding though he had a fairly well groomed goatee. He had bags under his eyes and a weary expression behind the annoyance of having a student show up late to his class. "Class, we have a new student," he announced, turning to address the classroom. "His name is Daniel Fenton, and he just moved here from Wisconsin." He gestured for Danny to go find an open desk. "Now, everyone, please turn to page four thirty-five, and we'll begin." He turned to the board and began writing.

Danny glanced around the room until he spotted the only remaining desk that wasn't already taken. He headed down the row of desks, thankful that it was in the back of the room. Front row desks were always the worst as he discovered in his prior class where his English teacher Mister Gore decided to direct every question at him, even when half the class had their hands raised ready to answer. Maybe Gore liked picking on new students as much as the bullies. Now Danny was stuck writing some lame poem for part of his assignment. He hated poetry! And rhyming! Could his life get any worse?

He didn't miss all the looks that followed him on the walk that felt a hundred miles longer than it really was. When he finally reached his desk, he tried to curl himself up and disappear from their prying eyes. He never wished he could turn invisible more than he did at that moment. A loud cough from Lancer drew all eyes back to him, except for Danny. His eyes were scanning the other students in the classroom until they landed on the man sitting to his right. Blond hair, tall, board shoulders, muscular. Yup, that man certainly fit the bill when Danny imagined all the qualities that made up a jock. Danny almost wanted to kick him for being so good looking.

His experiences with jocks were never good. They were bullies that pushed him around and treated him like a personal punching bag. But apparently Danny was doomed to have a thing for the big, macho, muscular type. He wasn't embarrassed to admit he was gay. He came out to Tucker and Sam at the beginning their junior year. He came to the revelation over the summer when they went to the beach, and he found he was drooling more over the hunky guys than the girls prancing around in skimpy bikinis. He spent the rest of the summer freaking out about this new found attraction to other men before deciding to give in and just accept that he was gay. He would only make himself miserable if he kept fighting who he was attracted to, but he wished he would at least be smart and fall for someone that would actually like him back, someday. In the future. Which was definitely not right now. He simply couldn't do it right now.

Steeling his nerves, Danny reached out between the aisle and poked the man in his arm, being sure to touch where the sleeve of his shirt covered the beefy arm. Why did he have to look so damn gorgeous? He was exactly Danny's type! Danny swallowed when he thought he saw a flicker of a smile on the man's face before he turned his head. When he met with those dark blue eyes, Danny thought his heart literally skipped a beat. _Damn, you stupid gorgeous jock!_ For a moment, Danny could only stare dumbly, completely forgetting why he was trying to get the man's attention. He leaned back in his seat, feeling utterly flustered as the man's eyes remained on him.

"Uh, um," Danny's eyes darted about the room before he finally remembered what he was supposed to give the man. "You're Dash Baxter, right?"

"Yeah." Dash leaned on his arm, resting on his desk. Mild confusion played across his face, probably wondering why the new kid even knew his name.

Deciding it best to get this over and done with as quickly as possible, Danny pulled out the note and tossed it onto the other man's desk. He pretended to turn his attention to Lancer as he reviewed the problems that were listed on page four thirty-five of their textbooks. But he glanced back at Dash as the man unfolded the note and read it. His breath hitched when Dash smiled with a shake of his head. The note was folded again and dropped into the bag at his feet. Danny forced his gaze away before he was caught staring. His right hand raked through his dark hair, and he kept it there to block his view of Dash. _Of course he has a girlfriend_ , he berated himself as he scribbled down the math problems into his notebook. He would deal with his ruined textbooks later. And he probably wouldn't be able to read his notes later since he wasn't exactly left handed. The problems were barely legible, but if he switched back to his right hand, he would be too tempted to glance at Dash.

Why wouldn't Dash have a girlfriend? He was in a word hot. And in another word straight. Both Dash and Paulina obviously ran in the popular circle, and Danny shouldn't be surprised that the two were most likely the hottest item in the whole school. He released a heavy sigh, wishing he could stop himself from feeling attracted to the jock. It didn't matter. He wasn't looking for someone right now. He probably wouldn't be looking for several more long years, if that. His jaw clenched tightly as he pushed back the memories so far into the back of his mind that he hoped they wouldn't be able to find a way to resurface anytime soon.

But they always did.

"Hey." A finger poking his shoulder made Danny jump. "Do you want to share my book?" Dash inquired once Danny jerked his head around to face him.

Danny swallowed. _He couldn't just ignore me, could he?_ Against his better judgment, he nodded. The smile slipped back onto Dash's face as he moved his desk closer so that Danny could better see the page they were on. Danny nearly melted right then and there, because the man's smile was seriously like the beaming sun. And no jock ever gave _him_ a smile like that! "Thanks," he mumbled in a soft, shy voice. He switched his pencil to his right hand and started fixing the horrible mess of his notes. _Just don't look at him too much_ , he instructed himself, trying to keep his focus on math. _He'll probably just squash you into football shape and use you for punting practice_. Danny resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk.

Dash laughed beside him, and Danny stared, completely unable to look away as the soft, warm sound made his cheeks tinge pink. Why was this happening to him? He couldn't like a football jock! He didn't even want to have feelings for anyone, but a jock was the worst option available.

Dash leaned over, and his voice was a low whisper when he spoke. "I don't." The two simple words and the feel of warm breath over his ear made Danny's heart jump into his throat. Dash's eyes rolled at the startled reaction he received. "I don't play football. I'm not a jock." His shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I like sports but never cared much about playing them."

"Oh," Danny responded blankly. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn't even ask anything before Dash started rambling. What brought that on? Danny scratched at his head, dropping his gaze back to his notebook. What was going on here? Why was Dash trying to be all friendly with him? Paulina acted nice to him too, and that was making his head spin. They both looked popular. Why weren't they treating him like everyone else? James certainly went out of way to mark Danny as a loser.

"So has Skulker and his gang done anything to you yet?" Dash busily copied down problems and notes on how to do the equations.

Danny's brow pinched as the question played over in his head. "Who's Skulker?" He didn't recognize the name.

A short laugh left Dash, and he smirked. "Sorry. You probably met him as James. Lots of us call him Skulker though."

"Weird name."

"He's a weird guy. It's best if you don't get on his radar."

Danny released a suffering sigh. "Too late. He completely shredded all of my text books."

"Hate those jerks," Dash muttered, shaking his head. "Skulker thinks he can get away with pretty much anything. He thinks since he's pretty much the star football player that somehow makes him the king of the school, but it just makes him a dick."

Danny laughed softly as a smile tugged at his mouth. "You're probably the coolest person I've met here so far." Or at least the nicest since Dash actually seemed to be friendly. His left hand wrapped unconsciously around the morgue tag as he glanced up at the board to see what Lancer was writing. He was pretty certain he wouldn't be able to figure out any of his homework later. Why did math have to be so difficult?

"Paulina's cool too. She's a little on the popular side since she's pretty and she's always giving great love advice. But she's pretty nice to everyone." Dash shrugged, quirking a small smirk. "I, on the other hand, am pretty much at the bottom of the social ladder."

Danny bit back a laugh, fearing he might draw the teacher's attention if he laughed too loudly. Dash unpopular? His eyes raked over the man's body. He couldn't believe that. "I don't care about popularity." He shrugged, pulling his eyes away from Dash before he stared too long. "I've been a loser at every school I've gone to, so I'm pretty used to being at the bottom of the social ladder."

"I guess we can be losers together." Grinning, Dash nudged Danny in the ribs with his elbow.

Danny ducked his head, praying the man wouldn't notice the color rising to his cheeks. Being anything together with Dash sounded good to him, despite an overwhelming fear of being intimate with anyone. That thought actually made the color drain from his face as his stomach lurched. He swallowed, hoping he wouldn't do something entirely embarrassing like vomiting in the middle of class or having a panic attack.

"Your homework," Lancer announced as class wound to an end, "is to finish all the problems on pages four thirty-seven and four thirty-eight." The class groaned but quickly fell silent when Lancer shot them a glare that promised more homework if they continued acting like children. When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door.

"So, Danny," Dash said as they walked out of the classroom together, "how are you liking Casper High so far?"

"Bullies aside?" Danny grinned. "I guess it's not so bad. Seems like every other school really."

Dash smiled with a twinkle of something mysterious in his eyes. "Well, if you'd like-"

"Daniel Fenton, please report to the principal's office," a woman said, the PA system cackling to life with the announcement. "Daniel Fenton to the principal's office." An awful static followed as the PA system shut off again.

Dread ran down his spine like a trickle of icy water. What could he possibly have done to warrant a visit to the principal's office? Danny sighed and hung his head. "Uh, I guess I'll see you later, Dash." He smiled shyly as he glanced over at the man. "Maybe we can hang out sometime." He waved a little before hurrying down the hallway to the principal's office. By the time he reached the office, Danny was chewing on his thumbnail with nervousness.

"He's expecting you," said the woman at the front desk as she filed her nails. "Go right in."

Apprehension washed over him as Danny stared at the door. Nothing about this bode well, and he had plenty of experience from previous schools. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and slipped into the office. The curtains were drawn shut, and the ceiling light offered barely enough light to see anything around the room. Shelves filled with ancient looking books lined the left and right walls. Before him stood a desk with two plastic chairs set before it. Danny gulped, hesitating to take either one of the seats.

"Daniel Fenton." The voice drew Danny's attention to the man sitting at the desk. He lifted his gaze from the papers he was reviewing to look over the teenager. His piercing blue eyes made Danny sweat. The look in those eyes felt like they could see right through him to his darkest secrets.

"Please don't call my parents about the textbooks," Danny blurted out, begging before he could snap his mouth shut. It wasn't even his fault that they were shredded beyond use! Yet under that gaze, Danny felt compelled to confess to the damage.

A smirk twisted upon the man's face. It wasn't cruel but there was something about it that didn't sit well with Danny. "I already had replacements brought up for you." He gestured to the stack of books sitting at the corner of his desk. "I'm very much aware that the incident wasn't your fault. I see no reason to contact your parents about this."

Danny sighed, his body relaxing somewhat. "Was that all then, Sir?" He fidgeted, wanting to grab the books and run. There was something about this silver haired man that Danny didn't like, though he couldn't put his finger on what.

The principal leaned back in his seat. "I just wanted to see how you were adjusting to the school. I know it can be difficult for new students starting late." The smirk left his face as a sour frown replaced it. "I must apologize for the behavior of some of my students. There are always some unfortunate bad eggs at every school."

Danny's head bobbed. He was very much aware of that fact. "It seems nice enough so far, Sir." His gaze moved about the room, unable to sit still for too long. He especially couldn't keep his eyes on the principal.

"How are Jack and Maddie?"

The question made him jerk, and his eyes snapped back to the man. "Uh," Danny blinked rapidly, mouth hanging slightly open. "You know my parents?"

The principal laughed, the left corner of his mouth trying to twist upward. "I guess they've never mentioned me then? Vlad Masters?" An eyebrow lifted with curiosity as he waited for an answer.

Danny shrugged, shaking his head. "They never said anything about knowing you."

"Ah, well," Masters leaned forward, scribbling down something on the papers on his desk. "That's probably for the best. We had a bit of a, heh, falling out if you will." His gaze rested on Danny, who swallowed, trying to force down the lump growing in his throat. "Perhaps it's best you don't mention this little meeting to them. I wouldn't want our past dispute to interfere with your schooling." He gestured with one hand to the books. "That was all."

Danny hesitantly stepped toward the desk. Trying not to look spooked, he picked up the stack of textbooks. His mouth opened then snapped shut when he couldn't think of what he should say. With a quick bow of his head, he hurried out of the office. Once he was in the hallway, he managed to breathe easy again. What was that all about? How exactly did Masters even know his parents? His name never came up in any of his parents' stories. Danny frowned as he thought over the whole encounter. _Well, I guess whatever happened between them isn't really any of my business_ , he decided. He had enough to worry about with his homework and surviving senior year without the mystery of his parents and principal hanging over his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Dash frowned as he watched the new student disappear down the hallway. He didn't even get the chance to speak, only able to offer a short wave, as the man hurried off after being paged by the front office. _I'm in trouble_. The thought ran through his head as he raked a hand through his slicked back blond hair. After reading the note that Paulina made him pass along with the simple message of "he's the one" scrawled out in her neat, loopy handwriting, Dash was ready to pass it off as Paulina trying too hard. Ever since the start of high school, Paulina was determined to find him the perfect match. She had a certain knack for it, but no one in town was ever right for him, according to her. Then Danny Fenton appears out of nowhere, and Paulina declares after a single day that he was Dash's perfect match. But after their short encounter in class, Dash couldn't deny that he felt some attraction toward the other man. Danny was pretty cute.

"So?" Paulina asked, grinning widely at him when she finally found him, shaking him out of his thoughts circling around the new man at their school. "Should I expect to hear wedding bells soon?"

Dash rolled his eyes as he walked down the hallway with the woman at his side. "I wouldn't expect anything like that."

"Dash!" Paulina punched him on the shoulder, and he pretended to be hurt by it, though the woman could throw a mean right hook if she put the effort into it. This was more of an annoyed but playful punch rather than something meant to physically hurt him. "Did you scare him off?" She frowned darkly at him, and Dash knew the reason for it. Paulina had an amazing gift when it came to matching people up, and so far, not a single couple that she put together failed. She clearly didn't want to break the streak with him.

"I didn't scare him off," Dash argued, pausing at his locker to get some books that he would need for homework. "He," a grin spread across his face, "really likes me. Or at least, he had trouble not thinking about how hot I am." His smirk was smug, and perhaps he felt a little egotistical at that, but the constant thoughts running through Danny's head during class made it hard for Dash not to smile each time the man glanced his way.

"So where's the problem?" Paulina leaned against the lockers as she frowned at him. "Since he's clearly attracted to you and you're probably attracted to him, I don't get why you think things won't work out."

Dash sighed, his mood deflating as he thought back over the whole encounter in the classroom. "It's not about attraction," he mumbled and shoved the books into his bag before he shut his locker. After slinging the bag over his shoulder, he faced Paulina. "There's something he's hiding. As much as he kept thinking about how he felt toward me, there was hesitation. There was this clear vibe that he didn't want any kind of physical relationship with me. He's not interested in dating." Until speaking it out loud, he didn't realize how much that fact hurt him. It was too soon to think about anything like love. It was merely an attraction they shared with each other, but Dash wouldn't mind seeing where that attraction might lead them. Why did Danny not want to date him, or anyone for that matter? What happened to make him so scared about having that kind of relationship with someone?

"Why?" Paulina gaped at him like she couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to date someone. She was a social butterfly, making friends easily with all the different social circles. To her, the labels didn't matter. She genuinely liked everyone and wanted to make friends, although there were a few exceptions. Dash could see one of those exceptions making his way through the hallway right then as Skulker tripped some poor teen and laughed as papers and books went flying. He didn't blame anyone for hating that man but was surprised that Skulker did have friends. The cheerleader Desiree was usually at his side, sharing laughs at the harassment of other students.

Dash shook his head. "I don't know. He kept his thoughts pretty clammed up on that. It must be something that he doesn't want to think about." That fact only made him more curious about what the man was hiding.

"Can't you," Paulina leaned in closer, shoulders hunching up slightly, "you know?" She stared at him meaningfully, her green eyes locking with his eyes.

"Never," Dash said firmly, some anger slipping out at the mere suggestion that he try to dive deeper into Danny's mind. He didn't even like that his telepathy allowed him to pick up on the thoughts of people. It took him several years to learn to simply block out all the thoughts rattling through other people's minds at all times. He had many sleepless nights as a child right after his telepathy started to develop. He couldn't shut out the thoughts, and he feared it would drive him mad. No one was there to teach him control, and he could hear his mother's worried thoughts when he started acting out as a result of the telepathy. He screamed a lot until his throat was raw, thinking maybe he could drown out the thoughts with his own voice, but it didn't help. Clapping his hands over his ears and hurting himself didn't help either. His mother thought there was something horribly wrong with him, but he was too scared to tell her about the telepathy. He still never told her. Even with the control he now had over his power, Dash could still hear the thoughts if a person was broadcasting them loud enough. And Danny was being so loud it was impossible to ignore him.

Dash knew it was possible to dive deeper into someone's mind, to root around and uncover memories that a person tried to keep hidden. But the ability terrified him. After he gained some measure of control over his power, he wanted to see what else he could do. He was eight years old, two years after he first discovered he could hear thoughts, and his best friend at the time agreed to let him test his powers on him. Dash was never good at keeping secrets with Michael, who was overly ecstatic when Dash told him about the telepathy. Michael was insistent on helping Dash learn more about his powers even though neither of them could predict the outcome. Dash really wished that he never told Michael anything now. He didn't have the control needed to do it, and when he went deeper into Michael's mind, something happened. Dash touched some part of Michael's mind and was forcibly ejected to find his best friend writhing on the floor screaming his mind out in terror.

Dash closed his eyes as the memory haunted him. He couldn't even bring himself to visit Michael in the hospital where they were caring for him, still trying to find a way to put his mind back together. As much as he wished he could help his friend, Dash simply didn't have the ability, didn't have the control. If he tried, he could make things even worse, though he wasn't sure how. Maybe he would put Michael into a comatose state. Thinking about his old friend killed him, and Dash didn't dare try that skill on anyone else. He hated his telepathy when he remembered that experience. He never wanted this ability, and he certainly never wanted to hurt his best friend like that.

Paulina knew nothing about the incident. Everyone heard about Michael being admitted into the hospital after it happened, but no one ever learned what really happened to him. Dash couldn't bring himself to tell anyone, and it scared him to think that Paulina would hate him if he ever told her about it.

Paulina blinked, taken aback by his response. "Sorry," she said in a small voice as she dropped her gaze and hugged her books closer to her chest.

"No, I should be saying that." Dash sighed, feeling bad when he saw her like that. "I shouldn't have said it like that. I know you were just trying to be helpful. But I really can't. I don't even want to hear his thoughts."

Paulina tilted her head up a little as a small grin appeared. "Even when he's thinking about how amazingly hot you are?"

His cheeks felt warm as Dash recalled the blush on Danny's face during their talk. "Not even then." He shook his head. "I'm invading his private thoughts. It makes me feel dirty."

Paulina frowned and patted him on the arm. "I'm sure if you told him about it, he would understand that you're not doing it on purpose. I mean, you can't help it! This was just something you were born with."

"You mean, something I got from my _father_ ," Dash growled. At least, that was the only logic he could make of it. He believed his mother would have said something to him by now if she shared this ability. His father left them when he was four, and Dash didn't have very many memories of the man. If he got this ability from anyone, Dash could only think it was his father. It only added another reason for him to hate the man that fathered him.

"Ugh, I hope you're not inviting him to your party," Desiree said, her voice grating on Dash's nerves as she paused to stand next to Paulina. "I don't know why you even bother talking to him. He's such a loser." A cruel smirk twisted upon her painted lips, like the jab was meant to really hurt him. Irritation flickered in her eyes when Dash merely stared at her indifferently. The woman never liked him, and Dash honestly didn't have any idea where that hate came from. But then, the only man Desiree seemed to tolerate was Skulker.

"Dash isn't a loser," Paulina argued defensively. She could say it a thousand more times, but it wouldn't change anyone's opinion of him. He was a loser since the start of high school, though Dash still wasn't sure how he got stuck with that label. Perhaps it had something to do with the football team. They never did like that he rejected their request to join in freshmen year, and he guessed some of them took it as a personal affront and turned the school against him. It didn't matter much in the end. It was his senior year, and once he graduated, he wouldn't have to see any of them ever again.

"It's fine, Paulina. I should be going anyway." Dash turned and headed down the hallway, leaving Paulina and Desiree to discuss party plans. He knew Paulina didn't really want anything to do with Desiree. They were hardly the best of friends. But Paulina fell within the circle of the popular, and Desiree was the queen bee next to Skulker's king. If a party was being thrown by anyone that was considered popular, Desiree was sure to weasel her way into running the whole show, even if her help was completely unwanted.

Dash turned down another hallway that had an exit close to the parking lot behind the school. After only a few steps, his attention drifted toward two men farther along the hallway. While he talked with Paulina, he never even noticed when Skulker passed them. His mouth pursed and his brow furrowed when he spotted the other man with Skulker. He recognized the other man as Kwan Long, another member of the football team, but unlike his teammates, Kwan didn't bother with the whole bullying thing. Dash didn't have many run ins with the man since they didn't exactly hang out in the same circles. But the few times they bumped into each other, Kwan at least seemed nice. He could remember seeing the man helping out one of the nerds pick up their things after Skulker laughingly knocked the books from his hands. Even Dash could see the way Kwan withdrew into himself ever since Skulker arrived at their school three years ago. He could remember Kwan smiling a lot freshmen year, but now the jock rarely showed even the smallest hint of a smile.

Something was happening between the two of them. Dash saw it in the creepy way Skulker would stalk after Kwan. It was there right now in the way Skulker leaned toward him with that sadistic smirk upon his face. Dash gritted his teeth when he saw that. Kwan had a clear vibe rolling off him that screamed of how uncomfortable he was around the man, but that fact seemed to only please Skulker all the more, like he took pleasure in making the man shake. Dash didn't miss the shiver that ran down Kwan's spine when Skulker whispered something to him. Moments like this made him wish he was better at using his telepathy. Neither of the men were broadcasting their thoughts loud enough for him to pick up on. Even when he walked closely past them, Dash couldn't hear what they were thinking, but he could catch pieces of their conversation.

"The guys told me you were skipping out on Paulina's party," Skulker said, sounding none too happy with that news.

"Not my thing," Kwan mumbled as he closed his locker. He shoulder his bag and turned to leave when Skulker grabbed hold of his arm. Dash caught a flare of pain rush through Kwan's mind at the tight hold around his bicep.

"You're mistaken if you think can run away." Skulker's tone held a threat to it.

Dash squinted his eyes over his shoulder, trying to determine the meaning behind it. Did Skulker really think he could bully his own teammates into doing whatever he wanted? If he never saw the consequences of it, Dash might be more willing to dive into Skulker's mind. He gripped the strap of his bag tightly as he fought that temptation. He wouldn't do that to another person, not even an ass like Skulker. He didn't know much about the man except that Skulker was his true name and James Radcliffe was simply an alias that he used to pass as human in town. Dash didn't know what exactly Skulker was except that he wasn't human.

When Kwan struggled to wrench his arm free with only the desperate thought of wanting to escape, Dash couldn't simply walk by. Skulker was a creep and a jerk. Even though Dash tried not to stick his nose into the business of jocks, he couldn't ignore that silent plea for helping now running through Kwan's mind. Whatever Skulker wanted from his teammate, Kwan didn't want to give it to him. Dash didn't need to know what the deal was between them to know he needed to help. Turning back around, he forced his body between the two men then gave Skulker a hard shove.

"Back off, creep," Dash ordered as threateningly as he could. He gave his best scowling glare, hoping Skulker would take the hint and walk away.

The hand released Kwan's arm when Dash broke between them, and Skulker glowered at having someone interrupt whatever was happening between him and his teammate. "This is _none_ of your business, loser." He nearly poked Dash in the eye when he thrust a finger into his face. "You better watch yourself before you find yourself in a world of hurt."

"You don't scare me." A cocky grin slipped onto his face. Dash really didn't scare easy. He usually didn't butt into other people's business because it didn't concern him. This whole situation was something he would normally keep walking past and ignore, but he couldn't seem to ignore the vibe he felt, that feeling that told him Kwan was in danger around Skulker. Kwan was a fairly big guy, had to be when he was a linebacker and spent most of the football game tackling the opposing team's players. He was strong, but apparently he didn't believe in using that strength to fight because he certainly could have decked Skulker at any point if he truly wished to.

Skulker grabbed the front of Dash's shirt, anger flashing in his green eyes. " _Don't_ stand in my way." The threat was back in his voice, and Dash wondered why Skulker was so determined to have his way with Kwan. That thought almost made him gasp out loud. _Did_ Skulker want to have his way with Kwan? Dash never gave much thought to other people's sexuality, and he certainly never cared to know anything about Skulker. He always assumed that Skulker and Desiree were together with the way they acted, even if they didn't show any public displays of affection. The idea that Skulker might being trying to force himself on Kwan sickened Dash, his stomach turning at the very thought. If he was pursuing this idea for the last three years, Skulker was showing some amazing restraint, though right now he looked like he was about ready to take what he wanted by force if it wasn't given to him willingly, and soon. Dash was about to punch the sick ass in the face when a loud cough interrupted their confrontation.

"Is there a problem here, boys?" the school counselor inquired with a sickly sweet voice that suggested she knew exactly what was transpiring between the two men.

Skulker's jaw clenched, and he shoved Dash as he released him. "No," he answered with a growl in his voice. "No problem, Miss Spectra."

"Good," Spectra said with her hands on her hips. "I would hate to have to drag you both down to the principal's office for fighting."

"I was just leaving," Dash said gruffly. Spectra wasn't exactly one of his favorite members of the staff at Casper High. Her mind was always well guard, for some reason, and a thought never escaped it. He was fairly certain he _didn't_ want to know what went on in her mind. When he turned to continue walking toward the exit, Dash found that Kwan mysteriously disappeared. He wouldn't have imagined the jock to be so silent on his feet, but Kwan managed to depart from the scene without either Dash or Skulker noticing during their confrontation.

_Great_ , Dash thought as he left the school. _Now I'll probably have to watch my back even more to keep off Skulker's radar_. But he didn't regret stepping in to help Kwan. They weren't friends, but that wasn't going to stop Dash from protecting him from Skulker. But what was Skulker's obsession with his teammate? Why was he so determined to have Kwan? He shook the questions from his mind. He wouldn't be getting any answers to them today.


	3. Chapter 3

Vlad stared at the file on the desk before him. Daniel Fenton. He never expected to hear from Jack and Maddie again, let alone encounter their son. It was true that he used to have feelings for Maddie, but that was more than twenty years ago. Had it really been that long? His fingers drummed upon the desktop. He really should thank them, in the end, since he wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for his old friends. They met in college, and he got drawn into their whole obsession with the supernatural. It started out with ghosts, exploring haunted areas around the college. But their research quickly led them to discover the world that most humans never knew existed. Their first encounter with the supernatural was a werewolf, a lone wolf that was feasting upon some poor woman when they happened upon it. Luck was the only reason they survived the attack, but after that, they delved deeper into this unknown world.

Closing his eyes, he breathed out heavily. Vlad would probably still be friends with them right now, moving from place to place in search of the supernatural as a hunter if it wasn't for what happened during a trip to Europe twenty years ago. He shook his head at the memory. They were in some backwoods area that Vlad couldn't even recall the name of while they were backpacking through Europe. After three months, Jack and Maddie decided they weren't going to find anything and flew back to America, but Vlad wanted to keep looking. There was a lot of history in Europe, and he was certain he would come across something if he simply kept going.

And he did find something. Vlad rubbed at his neck, like he would still feel the wound there after twenty years, but it long since healed. He was camping out in the woods when they came, at least six of them altogether. Adrenaline kicked in, and he tried to fight them off. He managed to take out one of them, but he couldn't fight all of them. He ran, stumbling through the woods. They toyed with him, letting him have a small glimmer of hope in escaping before they pounced on him like wild animals. They held him down as he screamed for help that would never come. There was no one to hear him in those woods. He was hundreds of miles away from any civilization. When Vlad begged, pleaded for his life, their master looked down upon him with a cruel smirk that still sent shivers down his spine when he remembered that night.

Vlad squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the feel of the fangs sinking into his neck. Fear and panic rushed through him as his life was drained out of him, sucked out greedily by the master vampire. He remembered his heart slowing and the world dimming. But the master vampire didn't kill him. He turned him, made Vlad into the very thing he was hunting. He lived several years hating himself for what he became. His sire and the other childes under him refused to let him leave. He took many lives, that he wished he could give back, under the order of his sire. His time with them came to an end seven years later when they were all murdered by hunters. Vlad was the weakest among them, and that was the only reason he could never escape on his own. His sire could always track him down if he tried to make a run for it. That night, with three hunters surrounding him, Vlad thought for certain that he would be killed, dusted like the rest. But he was saved when a vampire among their numbers stilled their crossbows.

The vampire was named Marquis. Under his teachings, Vlad came to learn far more about the things he could do as a vampire, beyond the bloodlust that drove him to feast upon humans. He became stronger and discovered more about the supernatural than Jack and Maddie could ever hope to know or understand. The hunters, after Marquis vouched for him, allowed Vlad to live so long as he no longer took the lives of humans. It was a promise that Vlad was happy to make. Feeding upon humans made him sick even if their blood made him strong. Only six years ago, the council that kept watch over the world of the supernatural gave him the position of principal at Casper High after seven long years of instruction and teaching for him to assume the role. He would be damned if he allowed any harm to come to his students.

Vlad stood from his desk and left the office. The sun was still up, but that was no cause for alarm for him. While it was true that being touched by the light of the sun would cause his body to burn, the school was spelled to protect him against the sun's harmful rays. As long as he remained within the building, he could wander the halls during the day without fear of death. Plenty of the students still remained in the hallways as he walked toward the teachers' lounge. He nodded and gave polite smiles to them as he passed them. He tried to be friendly when possible, but he knew many of the students naturally would avoid him, fearing punishment came along with his presence. He was the principal, and he was strict when times called of it. When he reached the lounge, Vlad slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

"The seventh key is mine!" shouted one of the teachers, and Vlad turned to see that it was computer lab teacher by the name of Nicolai Technus. He rolled his eyes as he strolled over to the refrigerator within the teachers' lounge. Technus was, no doubt, obsessing over his computer game, yet again. "Now at last, I can unlock ultimate power!" Technus shot to his feet with his arms punched into the air and victorious smile upon his face. But the scream from his laptop brought his cheer to a halt. "No!" He grabbed the laptop and shook it. "Curse you, Apocalypse Lord! Curse you for taking my victory!"

Vlad shot a quick glance toward the opposite side of the room and didn't miss the smirk playing on Lancer's face. A smile tugged at his mouth, and he wondered how Technus never realized that Lancer was the foe that stopped his victory in the game every time. It was rather amusing to watch them.

When he reached the refrigerator, Vlad took out one of the packets of blood. Type A positive, his favorite. He only wished that more of his students earned A pluses in their grades. After draining the packet into his favorite mug, he let it sit in the microwave for a bit to warm the blood. It lacked the fresh taste that came with biting a person, but at least it wasn't animal blood. And he didn't have the accompanying guilt and hate that came from biting someone. Once the blood was warmed, he walked over to where Lancer sat.

"I see you've fixed the books," Vlad commented before sipping from the mug. The shredded books that belonged to Daniel now sat upon the table, neatly stacked and looking brand new.

"I had a little help." Lancer's eyes darted to the other man sitting at the table with him.

Vlad followed the balding man's gaze to the younger man with his nose in a book. "You seem to be getting better at that, Ghost Writer."

The man lifted his gaze and scowled at Vlad from behind his glasses. "I'm not completely useless," he grumbled, flicking the page of his book with a sharp snap of the paper.

"I never meant to imply that you were anything of the sort." Vlad was quite impress with the young man's abilities, even if he wasn't permitted to use them all to their fullest potential.

The door to the lounge slammed shut, and everyone turned to stare at the woman that entered. "Tell me again why we can't do something about that Skulker?" Spectra demanded with a fury in her eyes.

Vlad sighed as he set down his mug on the table. This wasn't the first time someone on his staff brought up the question. "He was brought here as a form of punishment, according to those in charge," he added the last part in a mutter. "And our school is the only place that can safely keep watch over him. If there was any major threat to his presence, I assume we would be warned." He turned and sent a questioning glance to the man sitting in the corner behind Lancer and Ghost Writer.

The man didn't bother to look up from the thick tome resting his lap as he sat cross legged on the floor. His white hair was drawn back into a low ponytail, but his bangs hung down in his eyes. That fact didn't obscure the curious scar running over his left eye. "I'm sure the Warden is more than capable of dealing with his charge if any laws were broken."

"And that's the exact problem," Spectra snapped, glowering at the man. "Walker only sits by passively because Skulker hasn't broken any laws. He knows exactly how to get around the laws without breaking them. He's stalking around that other boy like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike."

"Clockwork, if you know anything that we should know about the future, I insist you tell us," Vlad ordered. His teeth clenched painfully as he stared down at the man. He was quite aware of the way Skulker hovered around that boy on the football team. But Skulker never acted physically against the boy, not in a way that allowed Vlad to exact punishment upon him. Kwan was one of his students, human though he might be, and Vlad wasn't about to let Skulker get his way.

"You know very well that I'm restricted from telling you anything that could alter the course of time," Clockwork said as his gaze returned to the tome in his lap. "I know you want me to tell if the threat that Skulker poses is a danger to that boy. You want to know if Skulker will win in the end. Once graduation comes, Skulker is due to leave." His eyes flicked toward Vlad, and for a moment, they shone red. "The question you want answered is whether he leaves alone or with someone."

"If you tell us, we might be able to prevent Skulker from taking him." Vlad's voice rose as he spoke. He tried to keep control of his anger, but the situation was infuriating. Even after three years, Clockwork continued to sit on his knowledge, refusing to give any answers. The deadline drew closer every day, and Vlad wasn't sure he could protect his student after graduation.

"Anything I might tell you could alter the future." Clockwork closed the tome in his lap as he stared at Vlad. "I'm not just some psychic getting bits and pieces of the future at random times. I don't see a future then catch a glimpse of what may happen if something happened to change the first vision. I see _everything all the time_. I see all the twists and turns that time takes regardless of what happens. I only guide time so that it flows in the best possible outcome. You should feel lucky that I'm on _your_ side. With the knowledge I hold, I could shape the world into the darkest future you couldn't even begin to imagine. But I use what I see to keep our kind safe."

"And telling me the fate of my student alters the future poorly?" Vlad couldn't see how his knowing would be a bad thing.

"You misunderstand. I'm not telling you not because your knowing is bad. I'm not telling because things have already begun to move. Skulker isn't the only threat we face. Kwan isn't alone. There are those that will fight to protect him. There are other students who are danger. Events must happen in a certain order, and your brash behavior could unravel all that needs to happen. People must experience things, even cruel things that leave them begging for death, in order to grow into who they're meant to be. If I tell you what lies in the future and you act too soon, which you will, it will hurt more than just one person."

Vlad's hands flexed at his sides as he tried to keep from yelling at the man. Sometimes, he truly hated the time keeper. He wanted to ensure the safety of his students, but he couldn't always do that. During the day, his movements were limited to within the school. There was always the possibility that Skulker could attempt something outside of the school while the sun remained in the sky. Even with Walker as Skulker's parole officer, Vlad couldn't trust that Walker would do anything to stop Skulker. He wasn't well versed in all the laws in place. It was possible that kidnapping a human from Earth was entirely legal in the minds of those from where Skulker came. His eyes drifted back toward the table next to where he stood. "The Ghost Writer-"

"No," Clockwork cut off that thought immediately. "He is forbidden from using that ability. You can't simply write everything to turn out in your favor. I will not allow you to disturb time with your meddling."

"Hey," Technus called, finally tearing his attention away from his silly computer game. "Is it true hunters have arrived in town?"

Vlad frowned at the murmuring that circulated through the lounge at that question. He wished to keep that knowledge quiet in hopes of keeping everyone from panicking. "They shouldn't be a problem," he said, regaining some of usual composure. He glowered one last time at Clockwork, who already returned to examining his tome. Then he turned to address all within the lounge. "I know you must all feel alarmed at this news, but I assure you, you are all quite safe. These hunters aren't the brightest ones around. As long as you continue acting like usual, they'll have no reason to suspect any of you of being supernatural."

"But their _son_ is one of our students," Ghost Writer pointed out with a sneer upon his face. "If he learns about anyone in this school, he could go running home to his parents and tell them all about us. He's a threat."

"Turning him away with no proper cause would only cast suspicion," Vlad returned, glaring down his nose at the English teacher. "I wouldn't want his parents charging into our school demanding to know what reason we have for kicking out their son. They might discover something if they came in here." Vlad shrugged. "And he doesn't seem all that bright either. I doubt he would be able to figure out I'm a vampire, even if I had my fangs bared right in front of him." He grinned toothily, revealing sharp canines that were perfect for puncturing the tender flesh of any human.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny rolled out of bed in the morning with a wide yawn. He felt exhausted after a restless night of sleep. Nightmares from events long since passed haunted his dreams. He was fairly certain that he didn't get all of his homework finished last night. The trigonometry assignment left his brain feeling like mush, and he only got about halfway through the problems before he gave up and crawled into bed. He didn't even try to write the poem that was due in English. Gore could glower at him all he liked, but the best Danny would ever be able to give him was a poorly written haiku, that probably would have one syllable too many. A haiku, however, was not the assignment.

Danny got dressed quickly, tugging on a long sleeved shirt with holes in the cuffs that he liked to stick his thumbs through and kept his hands mostly covered. After cramming all his books into his bag, he left his room and jogged down the stairs. The sight that greeted him at the foot of the stairs made him cringe. The front room was littered with papers and research material and boxes containing weapons. If he was ever considering inviting friends over, he certainly wasn't going to after seeing this mess. He didn't want to have to explain to his friends what all of this stuff was about. His parents were still unpacking all their hunting equipment and working to convert the basement of the house into their weapons vault.

When he entered the kitchen, Danny spied his mother cooking breakfast, eggs by the smell of things. His nose wrinkled as he reached up to grab the keys dangling from a hook right next to the door.

"Don't even think about it," his mother said sternly, not even bothering to take her eyes off the pan in front of her. "You're still forbidden from driving the car."

"It's been three months," Danny argued, wincing at the whine in his voice. _And it wasn't my fault!_ Not that he could actually tell her what happened. How was he supposed to know there was wendigo lurking near the lake? They barely made it back to the car, which offered little protection when the wendigo crushed in the roof. Only Tucker slamming down on the gas and peeling out of the area saved them, and the car, from further harassment by the creature ready to eat them. His parents really didn't need to hear about that incident, or many other incidents that Danny had in the past. With a sigh, he walked over to the counter near the refrigerator and grabbed an apple from the bowl there. "Can I at least have my phone back now?" Not being able to talk to Tucker and Sam was killing him, and it was only a week since they left Wisconsin.

"You can have it back on the weekend."

Danny started to argue but sighed instead. It was already Thursday. He could probably make it until Saturday without talking to Tucker or Sam. After biding his mother goodbye, Danny headed out the front door, biting into the apple as he left for school. There was a school bus that picked up at the corner of their street, but Danny preferred to walk to school. He had to wake up earlier to make it on time, but it was worth it in his opinion to avoid the stinky, crowded bus. He hugged his arms around his body and shuddered at the thought of being squashed next to someone in the cramped space. For a brief moment, the memory of seven months ago took hold of him, and he had to force himself to remember how to breathe again. _It's not getting any better_ , he thought miserably as the high school loomed ahead of him. He wished he could simply get over it.

Taking a deep breath, Danny entered the school for his second day, which felt no less intimidating than the first day. The hallways were already filled with students, chattering in their little social groups before classes started. Danny wove his way through the crowd as he headed for his locker, dropping the core of his apple into the nearest trashcan that he passed. When he reached his locker, he twisted the combination lock in the right sequence then popped the door open. He paused to blink in confusion when he found the mess of textbooks gone from his locker. All evidence of Skulker shredding his original textbooks was gone. He leaned his head in, peering at every inch of the narrow space like he might uncover some clue to understand what happened. Finding nothing, he shrugged and unloaded the books that he wouldn't need until after lunch into the locker, thankfully lightening his load.

"Danny!"

The sudden voice made him jump, his heart racing from the shock. "P-Paulina! Hi," Danny said as he closed the locker. His eyes darted about the hallway when he turned to face the woman that approached him. "What are you doing here?" He still couldn't believe that probably the prettiest woman he saw so far in the school was actually talking to him.

"I thought maybe you might want someone to sit with at lunch," Paulina explained, wearing a bright and friendly smile. "Dash and I have the same lunch period as you. You can join us."

"Oh, well, um," Danny mumbled, trailing off as he hugged his arms around his body almost like he was trying to make himself appear smaller or disappear. The offer sounded awfully tempting. He hated sitting alone during lunch. It always made him feel like he was being singled out and put on display because he didn't have any friends. Another chance to spend more time with Dash wouldn't be so bad either. Danny chewed on his lip. "I wouldn't want to ruin your time with him." Tucker, Sam, and he never shared any romantic feelings toward one another, and none of them ever dated within their little circle of friends. No one ever felt like a third wheel when they were together. If he tagged along with Paulina and Dash during lunch, Danny feared that was exactly what he would feel like: a third wheel.

"Ruin my time with him?" Paulina repeated as she blinked a few time in confusion. It slowly clicked in her brain, and she laughed. "You don't actually think Dash and I are together, do you?" She laughed even more when Danny nodded. "We're just friends. Dash isn't really my type. We don't," she frowned, tilting her head in thought for the right word, "match up together."

"You don't match up together?" Danny laughed in disbelief. "Seriously? You're, like, the two hottest people in school, and you're saying you don't match up together?" How did that even make sense? Did Amity Park exist in some weird alternate universe where the natural order of the world was smashed to pieces? Well, some parts still held true. Danny glanced warily at James storming down the hallway like he owned the place.

"It has nothing to do with hotness," Paulina said, drawing Danny's gaze back to her. "Just because two people are hot, it doesn't mean they're compatible in a relationship. Personalities might not match up." She shrugged. "With Dash and me, the chemistry just isn't right."

"I find that very hard to believe." Danny sighed. "But speaking of chemistry, I didn't quite finish all my homework." He turned back around to his locker and banged his forehead into the cold, hard, unforgiving metal. That was one of the things that sucked about moving around, especially in the middle of the school year. Sometimes, he jumped into the middle of lessons where he had no idea what was going on and spent the whole time trying to play catch up. He wished he could be like his sister, the genius, and be able to pick up wherever the school was at in classes like he was there the whole time. Jazz never had any problems with school, academically, and their parents couldn't be prouder of her. Danny wasn't as lucky in that department.

Paulina patted him on the shoulder. "If you have Miss Johnson for your teacher, I wouldn't worry too much. She'll understand that being a new student is rough for the first little while. She'll probably let it slide if you don't have everything completed on the second day."

"Thanks." Danny smiled at her. "Too bad not all the teachers will be like that." He could already imagine Gore scowling at him for not getting the poem written for his assignment.

"It'll get easier. Just give it time." Paulina sent him an encouraging smile. "And if you really need help, you can always ask Poindexter to tutor you. He's a bit of a nerd, and almost everyone in school picks on him, but he's all right. He's smart, and he'll help out if people need it. Although I wish more people would be nicer about asking him." She frowned, body tensing with suppressed anger. "A lot of the jocks like to threaten him into doing their homework for them."

"I guess you really can't escape those types." Danny sighed, knowing how rough it was dealing with bullies. His grades were never good enough for the jocks to harass him into doing their homework though. "But thanks. If I'm ever struggling, I'll ask him."

They parted ways as the bell rang. Danny hurried to his chemistry class, making it a full minute before the late bell echoed through the school. Miss Johnson wore a friendly smile as each student entered her classroom and took their seats. She was a petite woman, still fairly young. Her brunette hair was cut short and curled at the tips. From what Danny observed yesterday, everyone in the class seemed to like her. He walked toward one of the open lab stations and took a seat. With a sigh, he took out his things as Miss Johnson start the day's lesson.

When the door of the classroom opened again, Danny glanced up to see a dusty blond man slip into the room with an apology to the teacher. The short man hurried to his seat, dropping into the open chair beside Danny. He laid out his things in a cluttered mess over his half of the lab station. Danny stared, distracted by the rustle of paper as the man searched for a clean page in his notebook to take down notes. Thinking back to yesterday, Danny was fairly certain this man wasn't in class. The man's fingers were covered with Band-Aids, and Danny caught the edges of bandages peeking out from under the long sleeves of his dark shirt. Danny turned his attention back to the teacher, jotting down notes as quickly as he could.

A snap brought his gaze back to the man beside him. His station partner stared, his mouth hanging part way open, at his pencil with the tip broken off. "That was my last one," the man moaned as his shoulders sagged.

Danny groped around in his bag until her found one of his extra pencils. "Here," he offered, holding out the pencil to the man.

Pale hazel eyes stared at the proffered pencil. "Thanks!" A wide smile spread over his face as the man took the pencil. He started to turn back to his notebook when he paused. "I'm Abner." He held a hand toward him.

"Danny." He hesitated like with Paulina, but his sleeves mostly covered his hands. He took hold of the hand, and they shook.

"Oh!" Abner's eyes lit up. "The new kid!" He laughed when Danny groaned. "Yeah, it's rough being the new kid. I was new here last year."

Danny's eyes drifted back toward the man's arms. "But for bullies, being new or not doesn't matter."

Abner blinked then followed Danny's gaze. "Oh," he shook his head with a weak laugh. "This is just because I'm clumsy." He tugged at his sleeves like he could hide all the bandages.

Danny frowned at the reaction. He didn't like seeing the bandages about Abner's wrists or remembering the fact that Abner wasn't in class yesterday. _I'm just assuming things_ , he thought with a shake of his head. He didn't even really know anything about Abner. Having bandages around his wrists didn't necessarily have to mean anything bad was happening. Danny chewed on his lip. But what if something was going on?

"I swear I'm never going to understand any of this," Abner mumbled, scribbling down his notes in small, messy handwriting. His left hand scratched through his blond locks, ruffling them and making some strands stick out in odd directions.

"I'm pretty lost too," Danny admitted with half a smile that Abner barely returned.

They both fell quiet for the rest of the class as Miss Johnson explained what experiment they would be doing tomorrow. When the bell rang, Miss Johnson hurriedly called out their homework assignment for that night. Danny packed up his things, ready to join the line of students filing out of the room as they handed in last night's homework. Abner slowly gathered his mess of books and papers. His gaze flicked repeated toward the front of the classroom as he crammed each book and paper one by one into his bag, drawing the time it took him to depart for his next class.

Danny gave him an odd look, but Abner merely flushed and dropped his gaze when he noticed it. Danny considered staying back to ask Abner about it, wondering why the man was purposely lingering behind. But with the few minutes available between periods, he didn't have the time to hang back. He barely made it history on time yesterday and didn't wish to get in trouble for being late. After turning in his unfinished homework to Miss Johnson, Danny glanced back at Abner, who was staring in their direction with a soft pink upon his cheeks. Did Abner like this teacher, Danny wondered, more than what was appropriate for a student? He headed toward his next class with that thought still lingering in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

The bell rang seconds before he managed to rush into the classroom for history. The teacher Mister Cogsworth leaned against the desk with his arms folded as he watched the students file into his room. His eyes lingered on Danny as he hurried to his seat before the man could yell at him. Danny couldn't explain it, but the man's gaze chilled him, feeling like the man was looking inside him. It was similar to how he felt under Masters' gaze, except there was something more to Cogsworth's gaze, but Danny couldn't explain it.

Danny happily took his seat near the back of the room where hopefully he could hide from the penetrating gaze behind the rows of students before him. When Cogsworth began the lesson, taking his eyes away from him, Danny relaxed somewhat. Cogsworth was a strange man with long snowy white hair though he still looked quite young. He also had a strange scar over his left eye. Scars, it seemed, became a fascination for Danny. He had seen too many scars left by the supernatural that made him wonder if the scars he saw on people were caused by the supernatural. But there were other scars, ones the people tried to keep hidden like Abner, that made him worry that they were self inflicted. He absently ran his thumb over the wrist of his other hand. He knew quite a bit about self inflicted scars.

Taking a breath, he turned his attention to wandering about the classroom as he took notes on the history lesson. It was easier for him to drive the thoughts from his mind sometimes if he focused on those around him. His eyes scanned the room, looking to see if he remembered anyone from yesterday. To his left, the man had ebony hair that was cut short. His deep set green eyes held a dark look that Danny came to associate with a tragic past. His body structure was buff, strong, but not the same level as some of the athletes in the school. He could probably hold his own in a fight if it came to one. Danny only vaguely remembered seeing him yesterday.

He tore his eyes away from the man beside him and let his gaze drift again. When his eyes landed on someone familiar, Danny drew into himself, trying to appear small. James Radcliffe sat only two rows ahead of him. The buff football player leaned back in seat with that smug air of superiority about him. Danny still didn't understand how the man ended up with the nickname Skulker, but he was fairly certainly he never wanted the answer. He only hoped the man didn't notice him and try to do something to humiliate him. Yet again. Danny sighed as he remembered lunch yesterday when James tripped him. The incident made him want to avoid the cafeteria altogether. He tried to return his focus to the teacher's lecture, but his gaze kept finding James, who didn't seem to care one iota about what Cogsworth was saying.

James' striking green eyes landed on something to his right, and a smirk stretched wide across his face. Danny followed his gaze to discover that James was staring at the man next to him. His brow furrowed at the dark haired man wearing the Casper High letterman jacket. Judging from his size and build, Danny was willing to bet the man of clearly Asian descent was another football player. What caught his attention about the little exchange though was the almost predatory look on James' face. It reminded him far too much of the way the supernatural beings that he encountered looked when they were getting ready to pounce upon their prey, which at those times usually meant he was seconds away from nearly being killed.

When he forced his gaze away, Danny caught Cogsworth staring at him while he continued with his lecture. Danny swallowed and ducked his head, putting all his attention on note taking. He could still feel those eyes upon throughout most of the class. It was distracting and made his skin crawl. At the end of class, the bell rang, and Danny couldn't be happier to escape the watchful gaze of his history teacher.

Danny barely made it out of the classroom before someone rammed into him, hard and purposefully. He stumbled, books falling from his half opened bag. James' laughter was followed by other students who stopped to stare at him. With a darkening blush, Danny crouched down to pick up his fallen things. He would be late again to his next class. He didn't notice that someone else crouched down before him until the person handed some of his books back to him.

"Um, thanks," Danny mumbled, his voice nearly catching in his throat when he glanced up to see who his helper was. He took his books from the man and hugged them to his chest.

"Skulker's a dick," the Asian jock said as he stood and walked off down the hallway.

Danny blinked after him, surprised that any jock would offer to help him or badmouth one of their teammates. He remembered the look in the man's eyes, the sadness that almost seemed to consume every bit of life in those aqua green eyes. Sighing, he shook his head as he walked toward his next class. It felt like this school held hundreds of mysteries that he only caught glimpses of but couldn't find enough clues to puzzle out anything. He shouldn't be looking into mysteries when trouble found him far too often on its own. He seemed to have some magnetic draw for the supernatural. By the time he was fourteen, he probably learned more than his parents could ever hope to uncover about the supernatural world.

Somehow, he made it through his next two classes without suffering any horrible embarrassments. It helped that neither of the classes had James, or Skulker as everyone else seemed to call him. He spotted a few other jocks in his classes, but they didn't seem to do as much harassment as James. He caught one jock trying to drip glue down the back of the shirt of the nerdy looking man sitting in front of him, but one sharp glare from the teacher made the jock stop. Apparently, there were teachers here that didn't tolerate bullying, at least within their classrooms. After his fourth period class, Danny headed for the cafeteria, dreading the thought of trying to stomach the sludge the lunch lady served. He nearly made it to the door of the cafeteria when Paulina appeared, grabbing hold of his arm.

"You're coming with me," Paulina said firmly as she grinned and dragged him down the hallway.

"But lunch," Danny argued weakly, not too disappointed about avoiding the cafeteria food.

"You don't really want to eat that garbage, do you?" Paulina gave him a questioning look that was tinged with disgust. "I doubt you could even guess one ingredient used in whatever that stuff they serve is."

Danny laughed, thinking the same. "It does look pretty foul. But I don't have anything to eat then." He had some money, allowance from doing chores, but he didn't think a candy bar out of a vending machine was going to hold him over until he got home after school. A candy bar would be much more appetizing than the cafeteria food, though.

"Don't worry." Paulina grinned widely as she slapped Danny on the back. "We have that taken care of." She led the way down a part of the school that Danny never went before. None of his classes were down this way, so he didn't have a reason to come here.

"What?" Danny asked dumbly as his brow pinched. "And where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see." Paulina turned back to give Danny a secretive smile over her shoulder. That expression caused fear to coil tightly inside of Danny. It reminded him too much of the look Sam would get whenever she was up to something that usually lead the three friends into a near death situation. It was never intentional, but after two years of knowing her, Danny should have known that whenever Sam smiled like that, it was never good for them.

Paulina pushed open a door and dragged Danny into the cluttered room that looked like it might be the backstage area of the auditorium. There were wires running all about for the lighting. Racks of clothes and boxes of props took up most of the space. It almost reminded Danny of his house, except for the complete lack of hunter equipment. Paulina led the way through the mess and pulled back the heavy velvet curtain that hid the backstage clutter from the audience.

"Hey, Danny," Dash greeted when he lifted his head and spotted the pair coming over to join him. "Hope you're hungry."

"Yeah, hi, um," Danny mumbled flustered as he sat down with the two friends. Before him was a spread of assorted sandwiches and fruit and even a big bag of chips for them all to share. "Do you always bring this much for lunch?"

Dash shrugged and bit into a club sandwich. "I didn't always. But Paulina hated the cafeteria food."

"How can anyone eat that?" Paulina made a face as she grabbed a Tupperware container with a salad. "Just the thought makes me sick." She pulled off the lid and eagerly started in on the salad.

"I think I should feel lucky that my lunch ended up _on_ me instead of in me yesterday then." Danny chuckled as he looked over the selection before picking out a tuna salad sandwich. "Maybe I owe my thanks to James for that." He bit into the sandwich and almost moaned at how good it tasted. It might simply have been his complete and total hunger that made him think it tasted that good. "Okay. I totally hate you. Whenever I try to fix food for myself, it usually comes out a lot like the cafeteria food."

Dash grinned at the comment then shrugged. "Well, if you come eat with us from now on, you won't have to worry about that."

Danny was definitely joining Paulina and Dash for lunch if he got to eat real food like this all the time. He wiped a bit of the tuna salad from his lip then sucked it off his thumb. "So what's the deal with James anyway? Beyond the weird nickname that everyone calls him." When he got confused looks from the other two, he sighed. "He's in my history class, and he kept giving this other guy these weird, I don't know, leering looks. I almost thought he was going to jump out of his desk and eat the other man!" He tried to laugh, but after everything he saw in his life, it wouldn't be the strangest thing in the world. James looked normal, for all that he could tell, but outside appearances didn't always mean much when he was dealing with the supernatural.

"Ugh, I hate Skulker." Paulina shuddered at the mere mention of his name. Danny decided he should probably just start calling the man by his nickname since no one else bothered calling him James. "Who was the guy?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know the name." Danny frowned in thought. "He was tall and jock like, Asian. He has these aqua green eyes."

"Oh, that's Kwan!" Paulina smiled happily. "He's always really nice."

"And it's always been like that between them ever since Skulker showed up here," Dash grumbled, anger seeping into his voice as he glowered at the club sandwich that he was eating. "No one really knows what the deal is between them. Pretty much the day he showed up, Skulker's been on Kwan, and Kwan hasn't really seemed like himself since."

Danny frowned, somewhat losing his appetite at that news. "But isn't that weird? I mean, they're both jocks and teammates. I always thought those types banded together. Or at least, that's how it's always been at all my other schools."

Dash opened his mouth to speak then shook his head and clammed up as he looked away.

"What do you know?" Paulina questioned with a look that said she wouldn't give up until the man spoke.

"It might just be all in my head," Dash admitted with a shrug.

Danny finished off his sandwich before he pulled out his books. He kept his ear out, listening to what Dash was saying, but he wanted to work on the last bit of homework he had from last night. Maybe if he was lucky, he could get all the math problems finished and get something written for the poem.

"I ran into them yesterday when I was leaving, and I got this impression that maybe Skulker's been trying to," Dash hesitated, stumbling for the right words, "take Kwan."

"Take Kwan where?" Paulina tilted her head with obvious confusion in her eyes, but Danny froze at the comment, his pencil poised over the page in his notebook. His breath hitched in his throat as his brain felt like it was shutting down.

Dash rolled his eyes then glared at Paulina. "I meant like take Kwan against his will." He frowned darkly until Paulina gave a little gasp of understanding.

"But that's horrible!" Paulina gaped, horrified at the thought of someone doing that to another person.

"Well, Skulker is a pretty horrible person," Dash reminded. He apparently took notice of Danny's silence because he then leaned over to see what the other man was working on. "Didn't finish all your homework?"

Danny tried desperately not to flinch when he realized that Dash was speaking to him. Or that the blond man was so close to him suddenly. He nodded, and after a moment, he managed to form words again. "I passed out last night before I got all those trig problems finished." He groaned, rubbing at his head and praying that he didn't come off weird in that moment where he spaced out during their conversation. The panic gripping his heart wasn't letting go easily. "And I still have to write some stupid poem for English."

"Let me guess," Dash said with a knowing smirk. "You have Mister Gore."

Danny nodded, some of his tension fading as he stared at the man beside him. "But poems, ugh! I have no idea how to write a poem." He sighed, bending over until his head pressed against his notebook.

"Oh!" Dash sat up straight again. "Hey, Dora!" he shouted, calling over a woman that Danny didn't even realize was in the auditorium as well.

"What do you need?" Dora asked when she walked over to join their group. Her long blonde hair was braided down her back. Her clothing was a little strange, a sort of medieval flare with a modern twist. She kept a clipboard hugged close to her chest.

"Danny here," Dash pointed at the man beside him, "needs help writing a poem. Thought you could help."

Dora moved around the circle until she crouched down next to him. She stared into Danny's eyes with a look that made a shiver run down his spine. He was starting to feel more than a little self conscious as she leaned toward him. "O' the long lonely winter night, whispering with cold unforgiving fright, to gaze upon such brilliant blue, could such wonder ever be true, but creeping crawling fast, this light that could not last-"

"I think that's enough," Dash cut in with an awkward laugh. "It didn't have to be a long poem, right?"

"No, right, um," Danny shifted uncomfortably, edging away from the woman. "That should probably be good."

Dora smiled brightly. "If you ever need help again, just ask." She stood and walked toward the off stage area.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Paulina jumped to her feet and darted off after the other woman.

"She can be pretty intense," Dash said, trying to break the tension that fell over them. "But she's really good with the whole theatrical poetry stuff. She pretty much runs the whole drama department, even if she's only an assistant to the teacher. Mister Edwards gets the final say on everything, but Dora puts everything together for the school plays. Paulina's been trying to get a lead role ever since freshmen year."

Danny relaxed more with it being only him and Dash. He quickly scribbled down what he could remember of Dora's impromptu poem for his assignment. A laugh fluttered through him. "You mean they would actually pick someone other than Paulina? Who could be better than the prettiest girl in school?"

"If you keep saying that, Paulina is just going to be gushing all over you." Dash chuckled at the blush rising to Danny's cheeks. "I guess you haven't run into Desiree yet."

Danny shrugged as he flipped back to his math homework. "I don't think I have. But it's only my second day."

"Well, she usually hangs around Skulker. She pretty much gets the lead role for every play." Dash leaned closer, and Danny tried not to shy away like some weirdo. "Even though she's not that great an actress. But since she's the queen of the school," he shrugged, "she gets what she wants."

Danny sighed. "Some things about schools really don't change." He worked on his math homework, stealing some bites of food here and there. Dash checked over his shoulder, pointing out a mistake every once and a while. Almost all of his homework was finished by the time lunch was nearing its end.

"We should hang out this weekend," Dash suggested, causing Danny to nearly choke on a mouthful of chips.

After he managed to swallow, Danny responded, "Yeah, okay." He couldn't meet Dash's gaze when he spoke, chewing on his lower lip. He remembered saying yesterday that they should hang out sometime, but now he was feeling nervous about it. Dash and Paulina weren't a couple, which meant Dash was completely available, as far as he knew. _But still probably straight_ , Danny thought miserably. _And I'm not looking to date anyone_. It was hard to remind himself of that fact when he glanced at Dash to see the smile on the blond man's face. If Dash ever asked him, Danny wasn't sure he could say no.


	6. Chapter 6

The alarm beeping at ten in the morning on Saturday made Danny want to throw the blasted machine out the window. With a sigh, he climbed out of bed, shutting off the irritating alarm as he passed the nightstand. He would have preferred to stay in bed and sleep more, as restless as his sleep was, but Dash promised to pick him up sometime around eleven. Danny wanted to take a shower before Dash arrived. Leaving his room, he crossed the hallway to the bathroom then stripped down as he climbed into the shower. The cold spray blasted him, shocking him out of the lingering sleep clinging to him.

Danny leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the smooth wall of the shower as the slowly warming water washed over him. Spending almost a whole day alone with Dash was a bit scary for him. Danny chewed on his lower lip, nervousness already buzzing under his skin. But what was he getting all worked up over? Dash was straight. Turning around, Danny slid down until he was sitting on the floor of the tub with his knees drawn up to his chest. His right hand wrapped around his waist, tentatively running over the wrinkled flesh on his left side. His eyes clamped closed as the memories flashed in his mind. Even the ghosting touch reminded him vividly of the pain. He held his breath, fighting back bile trying to claw its way out of him. His parents still didn't even have a clue what happened to him, and he made no plans to ever tell them.

The water seared down his back by the time he remembered why he was in the shower in the first place. He reached up and adjusted the temperature before it scalded his skin. When he climbed to his feet, Danny hurriedly scrubbed his body clean and washed his hair. When he was finished, he shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel, quickly drying himself off, then wrapped it about his waist before he left the bathroom. He never worried about his parents catching him half naked and spotting his scars. His parents were likely busy down in the basement already, working on some new invention or researching the supernatural or figuring out some way to track down a supernatural being. So far, nothing of the supernatural variety made an appearance, and that was a huge relief for him.

When he returned to his room, Danny glanced at the clock and found that he spent more than half an hour in the shower. He didn't want to make Dash wait, especially if it meant that Dash would be forced to talk with his parents. He preferred if people didn't find out that his parents were crazy. That was bound to happen eventually, but he hoped to at least become better friends with Dash first. Danny jerked open the door to his closet and dove into it, searching through all his clothes for something to wear. Tucker would probably laugh at him for panicking over what to wear like he was about to go on a date instead of simply hanging out with a friend. Abandoning the idea of dressing to impress, Danny grabbed a simple pair of jeans that fit him snuggly around the waist and a loose, long sleeved shirt. Everything in his closet was long sleeved. Danny hugged his arms around his body as he stared at his clothes. Short sleeves simply weren't an option for him anymore.

After putting on his shoes and grabbing his wallet, Danny left his room. The doorbell rang right as he was closing the door to his room. Danny hurried down the hallway, practically stumbling in his haste to reach the front door first. But his mother beat him to it while he was still only halfway down the stairs. She opened the front door with her usual fake smile as she greeted the man on their doorstep. That was the same smile that she usually gave Tucker whenever he came over to their house. Danny sighed, at least thankful that most of the mess was cleaned up from the front room. His parents carried off most of their hunter equipment into the basement, leaving behind only a few unmarked boxes. To anyone else, it merely looked like they weren't finished moving into their new house, which was somewhat true.

"I'm here to pick up Danny," Dash said, and Danny rubbed at his forehead, resisting the urge to groan in frustration.

"And what do you want with me son?" his mother demanded as she folded her arms over her chest. Her violet eyes narrowed at Dash, and her mouth pursed in an unhappy line.

"Mom, we're just going to hang out," Danny said, holding back a sigh of exasperation as he hit the ground floor. "Dash is just a friend from school."

"Just a friend?" Maddie turned her narrowed eyes upon her son. She was clearly not buying his claim.

"I think you should probably take a better look at that project," Jack said as he strolled out of the kitchen, wiping what Danny hoped was oil from his face with a towel. "It's still squirting gunk out like crazy."

Maddie sighed wearily. "I should probably take care of that." She hurried off toward the basement, much to Danny's relief. He could always rely on his parents' obsession to avoid awkward situations, most of the time.

When he finished cleaning his face, Jack glanced up in time to catch Danny trying to shoo Dash out of the house. "And who is this young gentleman?" He walked over, ignoring Danny's desperately pleading gaze as he glared down at Dash.

"Dash Baxter, Sir," Dash answered promptly, and Danny wanted to bury his face in his hands. He liked it better when his parents _didn't_ know the names of his friends.

Jack crossed his arms, still giving Dash that hard glare. "I know young love can be a bit intoxicating, but I do hope the two of you will take things slowly."

"Dad!" Danny shouted, blushing darkly as he gawked at his father. "It's not like that at all!" He shot a glance at Dash, praying the embarrassing comment wouldn't scare him away.

Jack sent him a knowing smile, and Danny knew his father totally suspected there was more between him and Dash than simply being friends. "Oh, I thought you might like your phone back." Jack reached into his pocket and retrieved the sleek black cell phone that was confiscated from Danny three months ago. "Don't stay out too late." He dropped the phone into Danny's hands then headed up the stairs to clean up the rest of the oily substance coating his clothes.

"Yes!" Danny cheered and kissed his phone happily, ecstatic to have it back. Remembering he wasn't alone, he glanced at Dash as his cheeks tinged pink. "Sorry. It's been three months, and I haven't talked to my friends in Wisconsin in over a week."

Dash chuckled. "Three months without your phone? How did you ever survive?" His eyes twinkled with amusement.

"It wasn't so bad while I was still in Wisconsin," Danny admitted as he shoved his phone into his pocket. Pushing Dash out the door, he closed it, thankful that they could escape without further humiliation from his parents. "But I've missed being able to talk to them this week." He almost couldn't wait until later that night when he could call up Tucker or Sam. His gaze glanced over the top of the car before he climbed into the passenger's seat. But hanging out with Dash might take his mind off that. He worried his lower lip as he wiped his hands on his jeans.

"So," Dash said slowly as he started the car. "Interesting parents you've got there." He glanced over at Danny, who laughed nervously.

"Uh, yeah," Danny mumbled, feeling his nerves building up again. "Look. About what my dad said," he rubbed at one arm. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "Yes, I'm gay. My mom completely hates that fact and has been trying to force me into dates with girls, which is why there was all that glaring. I'll understand if that, like, freaks you out and stuff. But you don't have to worry because I'm totally not looking for any sort of relationship. I just want to be friends. That's all." He slapped his hands down on his thighs and refused to look at Dash. At his last school, being a homosexual only gave the jocks more of a reason to bully him.

Dash actually laughed, and Danny scrunched down into the seat like he might sink right through it and disappear from the car. "Danny, it's okay if you think I'm hot." He grinned widely as Danny sputtered, attempting but failing to respond. "And I'm not as straight as you're thinking I am." His blue eyes found Danny, and the look in them made Danny's insides twist, and he swallowed thickly. "But I don't mind keeping this completely a friend thing." Dash shrugged as he concentrated on driving. "Maybe somewhere down the road, we'll both want something more."

Danny thought his heart almost skipped a beat right into his throat. For a time, all he could think or hear were those words. Dash actually hoped they might become more than friends? With his arms wrapped around his body, Danny subtly pinched his arms, trying not to wince in response, to see if he was dreaming. Dash was pretty much his dream guy, and the fact that Dash seemed to like him back only made it all seem too good to be true.

"So where are we going?" Danny asked when his mind finally broke free from its shock.

"The mall," Dash answered almost like their prior conversation never happened. "I need to pick up something for Paulina's birthday, but I'm clueless on what to get her. I know she likes fashion." He parked the car in the lot at the mall. "But I'm not really big on fashion, and I would rather not get her something that's highly likely to be exchanged."

Danny thought about it, relaxing a little now that the discussion about sexuality and possible relationships was behind them. He climbed out of the car when Dash did the same. "There's jewelry," he offered, feeling less than helpful.

"I don't really know what size her fingers are, so rings are probably out." Dash led the way to the entrance of the mall.

"Plus giving a girl a ring? I'd reserve that for someone you're in a relationship with." Danny shrugged. "But maybe something like a necklace or a bracelet."

"There should be a store that sells that kind of stuff this way." Dash pointed toward one wing of the mall. "Paulina drags me there a lot whenever we come here." He rolled his eyes with an exaggerated sigh.

Danny walked alongside Dash toward the store, though he kept some distance between them. He noticed the strange look, the quirking of an eyebrow, that Dash gave him, but Danny pretended that he didn't see it. Hopefully, Dash wouldn't start pressing him for answers about his odd behavior. When they reached the store called Glitter, Danny glanced around at the racks and shelves filled with all types of jewelry. He felt awkward inside the overly pink and girly store. Even with Sam as one of his best friends, he never came to a store like this one. Sam wasn't exactly into all that girly stuff that other women liked.

"I think there are necklaces over there," Danny said, pointing toward the back of the store where he could see some necklaces hanging on hooks on the wall. He glanced about at the different jewelry as he followed Dash toward the necklaces. Only knowing Paulina for a few days, he wasn't sure what exactly the woman would like when it came to jewelry.

"I don't know," Dash said after he browsed the necklaces for at least half an hour. He went back and forth between the necklaces and the bracelets that were nearby. "I'm not really good at picking these kinds of things out, but I don't think any of these are something Paulina would like."

"Nothing at all?" Danny tore his gaze away from a display containing hairclips and frowned at Dash. "I'm sure she'll like anything you get her."

"While that may be true, I would like to get something that I know she'll like, not something she'll just say she likes."

"Girls are hard to get presents for," Danny agreed as he returned to looking at the different jewelry available. "I never knew what to get Sam for her birthday." He picked up one of the sets of hairclips. "What about these?" He held them up to show Dash. The hairclips were pink with little butterflies that were outlined with tiny gems. Paulina was always wearing pink, so he assumed the color choice would be liked by her.

Dash walked over to him and plucked the hairclips from his hand. "Hey, these are actually perfect." He smiled, and Danny chewed on his lip as he glanced away. "That went quicker than I thought." Dash led the way toward the cashier to pay for the present. "Do you want to grab a bite to eat?"

A growl from his stomach made Danny blush. "I could go for a bite." He laughed weakly, his arms wrapping about his waist.

Dash shook his head as he paid for the hairclips. "I'm going to have to keep an eye on your eating habits. You're practically skin and bones." He took the small bag that the cashier offered to him with his purchase. When he saw the awkward shifting from Danny, Dash chuckled. "Come on. The food court's not far from here." He grabbed Danny by the wrist, dragging him from the store. "So what sort of things did you do with your friends in Wisconsin?"

Danny frowned at the question as they walked toward the food court. How was he to answer that without lying? Getting tangled up with the supernatural didn't exactly qualify as a normal activity friends did together. "You know, the usual." Danny shrugged, thinking quickly about what that would be. "We went to the latest Dead Teacher movies when they came out." When they reached the food court, they debated for a while before settling on grabbing some pizza slices from a little pizzeria.

"I hope you don't feel bad that Paulina didn't invite you to her party," Dash said once they received their ordered. They walked over to the tables set up in the center of the food court and wandered around until they found an open one. "She wanted to, but she didn't think you would have fun with Skulker there."

"That's okay." Danny bit into his pepperoni pizza. "I don't really like parties. Not like I ever really had reason to go to parties with how much I move around. And being a loser doesn't exactly make me someone wanted at parties."

"How come you move around a lot?" Dash watched him curiously as he ate his Hawaiian pizza.

Danny almost choked on his mouthful of pizza and hoped he covered it well when he managed to swallow it. "Uh, you know, work," he answered with a shrug as he looked away. _I so don't want him knowing my parents hunt the supernatural_ , he thought as he wiped his mouth clean with a napkin.

"What sort of work?" Dash asked with a certain amount of wariness that Danny missed.

"Oh, just, um," Danny mumbled, searching desperately for an answer that wouldn't involve revealing what his parents did for a living. As his gaze wandered around the food court, he paused as his eyes landed on a familiar face. "Hey, that guy is in my history class. He sits next to me." He pointed in the direction where he saw the dark haired man.

Dash followed where Danny was pointing. "You mean Wulf?"

Danny turned back to Dash as his brow furrowed. "Wulf? Is that another weird nickname?"

Dash laughed. "Something like that. His real name is Wolfram Keller, but everyone calls him Wulf."

"Well, at least that's not too far off from his real name." Danny smiled a little, his eyes drifting back toward the man as he disappeared around a corner of the mall. Then he shook his head as he faced Dash again. "I have to say, this place seems so different from all the other places I've lived." _Despite being the most normal_ , he thought, picking up to take a sip of his soda. He hadn't encountered anything supernatural yet, but it felt like everyone had a secret to hide.

"It's not that surprising that people might have some parts of their lives that they don't want to share with others," Dash said, frowning down at what was left of his pizza.

Danny stared at the man across the table, failing to think of how to respond to that statement. He had plenty that he doubted he could share with anyone, at least not anytime soon. But Dash hardly seemed like he would have anything that he would need to hide. Licking his lips, Danny leaned over the table, his voice lowering as he spoke. "Is there a secret you're hiding?"

Dash lifted his gaze, and Danny could read the yes in his dark blue eyes. "And you're not hiding something?"

Danny leaned back in his chair, shoulders hunching as he dropped his gaze. "I am," he admitted softly. "But I can't talk about it." He twisted the hem of one sleeve. "It's," he closed his eyes as the words stuck in his throat for a moment, "not something I like remembering. Sometimes I think I would be happy if I could simply erase the memory from my mind."

Dash frowned as he watched Danny's reaction. "Do me a favor though. Never make a wish."

Danny jerked his head up, his expression confused. "What do you mean?"

Dash leaned back as he looked away. "You never know. Your wish might come true, but it might not be what you want in the end. You know the saying: be careful what you wish for. Just," his gaze returned to Danny, and he held the man's eyes, "don't make any wishes. Never out loud."

"Uh," Danny mumbled uncertainly as he blinked, "okay." He didn't really understand Dash's insistence on that point, but he knew when to follow a warning, especially if the supernatural were involved. After a tense moment of silence, Dash broke it, asking generic questions about Danny, his likes and dislikes. They fell into a more casual conversation, neither straying close to the topic of secrets. But that fact hung over them like a cloud. Neither of them could ignore that there was a secret the other was keeping, but they managed to enjoy the rest of the afternoon hanging out before Dash needed to drive Danny home.


	7. Chapter 7

Paulina smiled when the guests at her party offered her happy birthday wishes. Her hand wrapped around the crystal pendant that Kwan gave her earlier that day. He came by early in the morning, wanting to give her the present on her birthday and apologize for not attending her party that evening. Paulina understood his reason for not coming. Her emerald gaze drifted across the room to where Skulker was joking around with some of his football buddies. She certainly didn't want Kwan sticking around to receive more harassment from Skulker. Her hand tightened around the crystal as her jaw clenched. She hated seeing the way Skulker acted around Kwan and the effect he had on the Asian man. The aura around Kwan steadily grew darker in the years since Skulker first started attending Casper High. It was clouded with depression and misery and fear. She worried about Kwan, even more after what Dash told her the other day about Skulker possibly wanting to take Kwan against his will.

The door bell ringing broke Paulina out of her thoughts. She left the room and walked down the hallway toward the front door. A smile spread across her face when she opened the door and found Dash standing on her doorstep. "And I thought you weren't going to come tonight."

"I'm not staying. I just wanted to drop off your present." Dash grabbed her by the wrist then pulled her outside with him as he closed the door on the noise coming from the party room. "Here." He held out the small, wrapped package.

"So secretive," Paulina teased, not sure why they needed to be alone for him to give her the present. She tore off the wrapping paper and stared at the present. "Oh, Dash!" She lifted her gaze to him and smiled. "I love them!"

"Danny picked them out." Dash rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"How was your little date with him?" Paulina grinned as she snapped the butterfly hairclips into place. They went well with the pink dress she was wearing.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a date." With a frown, Dash leaned against the side of the house. "He still doesn't want to be in a relationship with anyone." His arms folded, and he dropped his gaze to the ground. "But there's something else we need to talk about."

Paulina's brow wrinkled as she took in Dash's posture. "Okay. Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be good news?"

"Because it's not," Dash grumbled, refusing to look at her. "I wasn't trying to hear his thoughts, but he's so loud sometimes. I didn't mean to catch this bit of information. It's important though. He won't come out and say it himself." Dash lifted his gaze at last, and Paulina swallowed at that hint of worry and fear in his dark blue eyes. "His parents hunt the supernatural."

"What?" Paulina shouted, panic making her body tremble. "But-" She shook her head. It was too hard to digest that information. "He seems so normal and nice. Danny can't-"

"He actually thinks our town is normal." Dash quirked a tiny smirk.

"Dash, if Danny is a hunter like his parents, what do you think is going to happen when he finds out about you?" Paulina reached up and rubbed her thumb over the crystal pendant. She really wanted to like Danny, but if he was a hunter too, then she didn't think being friends would be possible. Why did Dash have to tell her about this? She would have been happier not knowing.

"I'm not all that convinced that he is a hunter. I think he was more embarrassed by the fact that his parents are hunters." Dash shrugged, broad shoulders hunching. "Maybe I'm just hoping too much that I can still have a relationship with him."

Paulina sighed as she rubbed at her forehead. "Well, you two are a perfect match. I don't think you would be if something like this would come between you."

"I was thinking of telling him." Dash lifted his gaze, meeting Paulina's eyes like he was searching them for a sign that he was being an idiot. "He's hiding more than just the fact that his parents are hunters. Maybe if I break through this wall of secrets, I can get him to open up about what else he's hiding."

"That sounds like a dangerous game to play, Dash." Paulina frowned at him. "What if he runs home and tells his parents?"

"I don't think he tells his parents all that much about him. I get the feeling that he didn't even want his parents to meet me." Dash pushed away from the house then placed his hands on Paulina's shoulders. "Look. If he does go running off to tell his parents, at least it's only me that they know about. I'm not going to spill everyone's deep dark secrets to him. I'm only going to tell him about myself. After that, if I have to, I'll leave town to escape his parents."

"Dash," Paulina said, and she could hear the whine in her voice. She frowned at the stubborn look in his eyes. "Who am I going to eat lunch with if you leave? _What_ am I going to eat for lunch?"

Dash laughed, shaking his head. "Have a little faith in him? Until I tell him, just pretend like you don't know about his parents. I just thought I should tell you so you can avoid letting anything slip. I should probably be going now. Don't want to keep you from your party too long. They might send out a search party." He grinned then leaned in to kiss Paulina on the cheek. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Paulina murmured softly. She watched him walk to his car. With the worry running through her, she wasn't sure she wanted to return to her party. How could Danny be the son of hunters? It was like some cruel twist of fate that Danny, who was pretty much perfect for Dash, would wind up being a danger to them. When the door opened, she turned around to blink at the woman with long dark hair.

"What are you doing out here?" Desiree asked as she leaned against the doorframe. A delicate eyebrow raised in question.

Paulina shook her head. "Just getting some fresh air."

"Oh?" Desiree rolled her eyes as she stepped out, pulling the door closed after her. "And here I thought you were chatting with that block head."

"Dash is not a block head," Paulina snapped, treading dangerously close to growling at the other woman. "And you're one to talk." She sighed when Desiree blinked in confusion. "You hang out with that asshole Skulker."

Desiree shrugged, the strap of her baby blue top slipping down one tanned shoulder. "It's not like I like him," she said as she looked away. "I only approached him because I thought I could offer him help." She wiggled the fingers of one hand at Paulina, who caught the meaning immediately. "But it turns out I couldn't."

"You couldn't help him?" Paulina's brow rose in surprise, and she almost laughed in her disbelief. "I wouldn't have thought there was anything you couldn't help with." She frowned darkly at the other woman when she thought about what Skulker wanted. She was fairly well aware of what the other woman was capable of, which was why it surprised her that Desiree couldn't help Skulker achieve his goal.

"I can't really explain it." Desire huffed a sigh, confusion drawing her brow together. Then she smirked and leaned toward Paulina. "But since we're on this topic, tell me. What exactly is it those eyes of yours can see? How does your whole match making thing work?"

Paulina blinked rapidly a few times, startled by the question. Desiree's sudden closeness didn't help her to gather her thoughts either. "It's not exactly all that interesting," she murmured, looking away from the inquisitive eyes focused so fully upon her. The women of Paulina's family always had a knack for match making, though it was her father that passed down the trait to her. When she was little, her grandmother told her that she had the "gift of sight." In simple terms, it meant that she was able to see the aura that surrounded people.

"Nope," Desiree said, shaking her head. She poked Paulina in her side. "You're talking. I'm not letting you get away until you tell me about it." She grabbed hold of Paulina's hand and held on to it, lacing their fingers to keep a tight grip.

With a sigh, Paulina used her free hand to brush back some of her ebony hair. "I just read the auras around people. Usually, it just lets me decipher what emotions they're feeling." She shrugged because it really wasn't that impressive of an ability. "As for match making, well," she frowned, thinking of how best to explain it. "It's weird. I look at the two people, and it's almost like there's this thread of energy that connects them. And when they're near each other, it's like their auras merge, in a way, like they become one." She laughed, feeling silly explaining something that she only partly understood. "That must sound pretty crazy."

Desiree, instead, looked thoughtful as she took in what Paulina said. "And what do you see when you look at Skulker and Kwan together?"

"Definitely not a match made in heaven." Paulina frowned and tugged her hand free of Desiree's hold. "And if you're helping Skulker to rape Kwan-"

"Whoa!" Desiree held up her hands, shock playing across her face. "I am not helping him do something like that."

"Then what's the whole thing about? I would have thought with your wish granting abilities, you could have given him anything that he wanted." Paulina folded her arms in thought. If Skulker didn't want to rape Kwan, then what did he want from the Asian jock? She only felt minor relief that Skulker's harassment wasn't related to a sexual desire.

"Being a genie isn't all fun, you know." Desiree placed her hands on her hips as she glowered. "And it's not like I got a rule book for how everything works with granting wishes. All I know is that when I granted his wish, it rebounded."

"What was the wish?"

Desiree stared at Paulina for a while, almost looking like she wouldn't say. Then she turned her gaze away. "He wanted complete obedience from Kwan."

"So when it rebounded," Paulina said as she tried to piece together what exactly that meant.

"That's right," Desiree grumbled, a dark look entering her eyes. "It hit me. So now I have to be all obedient when I'm around Skulker." She shuddered in disgust. "As if men aren't bad enough, now I have to play pet to that alien?"

"Alien?" Paulina's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets at that news.

"Apparently, all the teachers know about it, but they didn't want to tell us all about it," Desiree explained, rubbing absently at the gold cuff around one wrist. "From what he's told me, Skulker came from some distant planet. Being sent here is, like, some sort of punishment by his parents for misbehaving or something. He's not very talkative about it."

"So why does he want complete obedience from Kwan?" Paulina felt like her head was spinning with this new information. Skulker was an alien sent to Earth as some sort of grounding? She rubbed at her temples, wondering why things could never be normal for any of them. Even a normal human like Kwan ended up getting dragged into supernatural problems.

Desiree shrugged, not having the answer to that question. "He wouldn't tell me. I didn't know what he was when I approached him after seeing him with Kwan. I told him I could grant wishes, and he made that wish with no further explanation. Now I can't even really question him about it because I have to follow his orders, and he commanded me to never question him."

"What if I wished that you didn't have to listen to him?"

"That could work, but you'd have to get my lamp from Skulker first."

Paulina sighed at that answer. She doubted getting the lamp from Skulker's possession would be an easy task. Moving to lean against the side of the house, Paulina decided to move away from that topic. "I thought genies had to stay in their lamps."

"Not always," Desiree answered, leaning next to her against the wall. "In the early days, my masters would always command me to return to the lamp. But when I ended up here, I was given control over my lamp. If I wanted to grant a wish, I would let the wisher hold the lamp. But after Skulker's wish rebounded, he commanded that I give him the lamp." Desiree sighed as she glared up at the night sky. "I hate men."

"So," Paulina said thoughtfully, "you don't hate Dash for not joining the football team? You hate him simply because he's a guy?"

Desiree turned her gaze on Paulina, and a frown curved down on her face. "Well, it was pretty upsetting that he refused to join the team. Did you ever see him play in gym? The guy would make an excellent quarterback if he gave it half a chance. But," she turned her head away, "men are always the same. They use and abuse. That's all I've known throughout my life. Every master I've had was a man, and they all treated me like a possession to be used any way they saw fit. I may look eighteen, but I'm much, much older than that." Her eyes turned sad. "Because I'm young and beautiful, they liked to have their way with me. They would beat me if I didn't comply to their wishes. They didn't care how badly they hurt me because I would heal."

"That's awful," Paulina said, knowing any words she might speak would offer little comfort for what the other woman experienced. She hung her head, a horrible feeling making her heart sink. "I always thought you were an egotistical-"

"Bitch?" Desiree supplied, but Paulina shook her head.

"I wasn't going to use that term." Paulina offered a small smile, but it didn't reach to her emerald eyes. "You've always ran the school like you were the queen of it. The way you treated people always made me want to hate you."

"Only the men," Desiree reminded. "I've only ever been a bitch to the men. I like the women. I've always liked the women."

Paulina paused to think about that and realized Desiree was right. In their years together at Casper High, Paulina couldn't remember seeing Desiree being mean to the other women. It was only the men that received her cruel words and actions. "They're not all bad though," she tried though she didn't think Desiree would believe that after all that she experienced at the hands of men. "Dash would be nicer to you if you didn't provoke him so much, and Danny is really sweet." She snapped her mouth shut, remembering what Dash told her about Danny's family. "We've been out here for so long! We should probably head back inside now." Paulina laughed, trying to lighten some of the mood. She grabbed hold of Desiree's hand and pulled her back into the house where their absences were hardly noticed.


	8. Chapter 8

"Tucker!" Danny resisted the urge to scream when his friend finally picked up the phone. He tried Sam first, but she didn't answer. That fact made his mouth purse in mild frustration. "It's feels like forever since I got to talk to you guys."

Tucker chuckled. "I see you finally got your phone back. Man, it's been so weird not hanging out with you. I keep looking for you in the cafeteria then remembering, oh yeah! You're not here anymore." His frown could be heard in his voice.

"I know." Danny sighed as he walked along under the night sky. "I've moved around a lot, but this has been the hardest move. I miss you guys so much." He paused in his walking as he chewed on his lower lip. "Has Sam figured out anything?"

"She's still researching it, but I think it's time we just give up. Unless she finds someone that knows more about magic, I doubt we're going to figure out exactly what she did. I don't think Sam even really knows what she's looking for. She was pretty frantic that night, casting spells like crazy. I think we should just be thankful that it worked somehow." Tucker fell silent for a moment. "You're in a graveyard, aren't you?"

Danny winced and almost feared his friend could somehow see him. With a tired sigh, he answered, "Yeah." He rubbed at the back of his neck as his mouth pulled into a frown. Even before the incident, he always felt drawn to graveyards when he needed to clear his head, or simply escape from his parents. It wasn't the wisest decision since the supernatural sometimes lurked in graveyards. He couldn't count how many times he ran into a vampire because he was stupidly wandering around in a cemetery. "Don't worry. I remembered to carry a stake with me."

"Oh, well, as long as you have a stake," Tucker said sarcastically, and Danny could see him rolling his eyes in his mind. "Just watch your back, dude."

"Yeah, yeah." Danny glanced about, seeing nothing but rows of gravestones and some mausoleums dotting the area. Toward the back of the graveyard was a line of trees, marking the start of a thick forest. "Anyway, I don't think there's much in the way of supernatural here. I haven't run into anything yet."

"Sam keeps trying to get me to go hunting with her, but it's just not the same without you. You were the one with all the information. I was just tech support. I don't have the knowledge or fight ability that you and Sam have." Tucker sighed.

"Hey, you got us out of more than a few scrapes. And please try to keep Sam out of trouble. You know she can't help but go looking for it." Danny shook his head, thinking back on all the trouble they got into because Sam got a great idea.

"Yeah, she does have that habit." Tucker chuckled lightly. "So made any new friends there?"

"Tucker, I feel like I've been warped to an alternate world or something." Danny laughed as he hugged his free arm around his waist. "Like the hottest girl in school is actually talking to me and treating me like a friend and wanting to eat lunch with me."

"Dude! I so have to visit you sometime because I'm totally not believing you."

"I don't even believe me. And there's this guy-"

"I'm not Sam. I don't want to hear about your crushes."

"Tucker, this guy though!" Danny sighed, hanging his head. "He fits my dream guy, you know. But-"

"You haven't started cutting again, have you?" Tucker demanded in a firm tone that suggested he would find some way to make it from Wisconsin to Amity Park to slap him.

"I promised I wouldn't. Even though sometimes I wake up with such a severe panic attack that cutting seems like the only answer." He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to push away that old urge that would come over him. "Although, I'm a bit worried about the guy that sits next to me in chemistry. He has a lot of bandages on his arms. I think he might be cutting." Danny chewed on his thumbnail. "But it's not like I can just walk up to him and ask about it. We're not exactly friends. And what if I'm wrong? I don't want him thinking I'm some weirdo."

"People are going to think that anyway with your parents." Tucker laughed as Danny grumbled. "But if the kid is cutting, it might be better to talk to him about it. You know what it's like. You might be able to help him."

Frowning, Danny remained silent for some time. "I'm really messed up, aren't I?" His voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"You had something terrible happen to you. I'd be surprised if you weren't messed up. Heck, I'm a little messed up, and I haven't experienced anything nearly as bad as you."

That gained a small smile from Danny. "Do you think you and Sam might be able to make a trip down here?" He liked getting to hang out with and talk to Dash and Paulina, but he still really missed Sam and Tucker. He wanted to be able to see them again, not simply talking on the phone.

"I've talked with Sam about it. We might be able to convince our parents, but I don't think they'll let us any time soon."

Danny scratched a hand through his hair. He really hoped that they might be able to come to Amity Park soon, but with school still going on, he should have known that wouldn't be possible.

"I'm surprised you haven't had any supernatural run ins yet." Tucker laughed. "You were always such a magnet for the supernatural. I don't think I believe that there's absolutely nothing supernatural there."

"Well, the whole point of this move was because my parents heard that this place had lots of supernatural beings lurking here. But if they are here, they're really good at hiding. Which is weird." Danny frowned at that realization. "Most of my past encounters tell me that they're vicious beings. There have been a few where they haven't immediately tried to attack me. But I can't imagine a whole town of well behaved supernatural beings." He laughed at that idea. "That would be pretty crazy, but maybe I'd actually fit in with them better than at a normal school."

"So your parents are still clueless?"

"As always, and I plan to keep it that way."

"Nothing new in terms of abilities?"

Danny dropped his gaze to the ground. His bare toes curled into the dirt as frost gathered on the blades of grass around him. "Not really. Just the same stuff we figured out before I left."

"Damn. I thought you would get to develop some cool powers or something."

Danny continued walking, the frozen grass crunching under his feet. "I think I'm happy not developing any weird powers. I just wanted to be normal." He pinched at his nose. That statement played on repeat in his head, and he couldn't recall how many times he said it now. "I was hoping Sam might find out something about this and figure out a way to reverse it. Or at least, make me normal again."

"I really don't think that's happening for you, dude." Tucker's voice was tinged with sadness. "I know that's harsh to say, but you have to realize it's true. You both should be happy that there wasn't any kind of backlash or high price to pay for using that magic. Because I'm pretty sure something like that doesn't usually happen without a cost."

"Tucker, saying something like that really doesn't help. What if that spell brought something dark and horrible into the world? I don't want that on my head." Even that simple thought made Danny shiver with fear. He didn't want to think about some evil running around the world all because of him.

"But if it exists, it's better to know about it and figure out how to stop it rather than having it creep up on you without warning."

Danny froze when he heard a rustling from the forest that he was unconsciously walking closer to. "Great," he grumbled, glaring sourly at the dark forest. "You say something like that, and I hear weird noises. Now you have me all freaked out that something creepy is lurking around waiting to attack me."

"Oh, come on!" Tucker laughed, loud and hard at Danny's comment. "There's always something lurking in wait to attack you. Because, dude, you're seriously a magnet for trouble."

"Not making me feel better. Look. I'm going to hang up now. If there's something there, I can't really talk and fight for my life at the same time."

"Be careful, Danny. I don't want to get a call hearing you got mauled by some mysterious beast."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you later." Danny hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. He swallowed thickly as he wiped sweaty palms on his jeans. Part of him wanted to simply turn around and run for his life, never discovering what was making that noise in the forest. But the other part of them, the part that tended to win out on situations like this one, wanted to move closer and figure out what was lurking in the forest.

Danny reached the back fence of the graveyard. It wasn't very tall, and he easily scaled over the wrought iron fence. He listened closely, but the rustling noise stopped. Silence reigned the night until he heard the heavy breathing nearby. He rushed toward the noise, dodging past trees. When he reached the source of the breathing, he skidded to a halt in front of another man. A growl rumbled through the man as he leaned against a tree with a hand pressed to his side.

"Oh god, Wulf," Danny whispered, crouching down beside him. "What happened?"

Green eyes snapped toward him, and Wulf growled louder, nose wrinkling as teeth were bared.

"I'm trying to help!" Danny snapped. After facing plenty of scary supernatural beings, having a man growl at him wasn't exactly terrifying. He tugged Wulf's hand away to examine the wound better. Wulf growled, weaker this time, but Danny ignored it. The wound in Wulf's lower abdomen looked serious, but it was the blinking device he could see buried in all the blood that made Danny pale. "Crap. It's a tracker."

As if to prove his point, the crashing sounds of two people wandering the forest reached their ears. Danny's heart stopped, knowing exactly who would appear around the tree if they stayed here for too much longer. When he left his home earlier that evening, Danny thought his parents were still down in the basement. He didn't realize his parents left to go on a nightly hunt. He slapped a hand over Wulf's mouth to muffle the sound as he dug his fingers into the wound. Wulf howled against his hand, his body twitching and thrashing while Danny ripped out the tracker. He prayed the noise was muffled enough that his parents couldn't hear it. Once the tracker was free, Danny shot to his feet and turned. He launched the tracker through the air as far away from them as he could. With any luck that would buy them some time to get away.

"Come on, Wulf." Danny grabbed one of Wulf's arms and pulled it around his shoulders. "We have to get out of here. Fast." He hauled Wulf to his feet, struggling with the man's heavier weight.

"They're too close," Wulf grunted, wincing with pain as he held a hand to his wound.

"Yeah, well, lucky for us, they aren't exactly the brightest hunters in the world." Danny really wanted to believe that he could get through his senior year without anyone learning about his parents being hunters, but clearly his parents refused to allow that to ever happen.

The crashing from his parents moved away from them, following the tracker. His parents weren't exactly stealthy either, another reason they never managed to catch anything they hunted. As long as they kept moving away from his parents, they could escape without being noticed. Danny helped Wulf limp out of the forest and past the graveyard. _And I thought for once I would be able to escape all this supernatural craziness_ , he thought, glancing at Wulf and worrying about the paleness of his complexion. He was losing a lot of blood from the wound.

"Where do you live?" Danny was glad for the late hour. Hardly anyone was around to take notice of them, which was good because he wasn't sure what to tell anyone if they questioned Wulf's injury.

Wulf cringed, taking deep breaths. "Not there." He shook his head and pointed down a street. He offered directions on where to take him, but Danny grew more worried the farther they walked. Wulf wasn't looking too good, but he desperately needed to get his wound looked at. The threat of his parents tracking them still loomed over them. By now, his parents probably found the tracker to discover that their prey escaped. Cars passed every now and then, but no one stopped to check on them or even give a second look at them.

When they reached a small, two story house, Danny pounded on the front door. He didn't know why Wulf wanted to come here of all places, but if they could get help from whomever lived here, Danny couldn't argue. The man was leaning heavily on him, his head bowed and his breath short and ragged. It took only a moment for the door to open. When he looked up to see who answered, Danny gulped nervously at the man.

"Mr. Lancer!" Danny's eyes darted around, and he wondered if they came to the wrong house. Why would they be at Lancer's house?

"Get in," Lancer ordered, stepping aside to allow Danny to carry Wulf into his home. Once they were inside, Lancer closed the door. "Bring him into the kitchen." He led the way with Danny struggling to drag Wulf along with him.

"You're not freaking out about this?" Danny asked cautiously. Once in the kitchen, Lancer helped him lift Wulf onto the table. They got the shirt off Wulf, tossing the bloody piece of clothing into the sink. The sight and metallic smell of blood made Danny's stomach churn, and he buried his nose in the crook of one elbow.

"I'm fairly used to having to help with things like this," Lancer explained as he leaned close to examine the injury. Beneath the blood, thick dark veins spread outward from the wound. "Grab me the bottle with the purple stuff from the drawer."

Danny didn't hesitate to yank open the drawer. There were tons of bottles inside the drawer filled with all sorts of things that Danny only vaguely recognized. Not wasting any more time, Danny grabbed the bottle Lancer required. He hurriedly shoved the bottle into the man's hand. Lancer twisted the cap off and dumped a small portion of the ground up purple powder into the cap. After a mumbled word, the purple powder in the cap sparked, a small flame burning and sending up a thin plume of violet hued smoke. Danny jumped when he saw that, eyes widening as he gaped at his teacher. Lancer dumped the burning powder into Wulf's wound then rubbed it into the wound as Wulf screamed. His body started to thrash, but Danny jumped into action, holding down his arms as best as he could. Wulf was a lot stronger to him. After several moments, Wulf calmed down as his eyes rolled back and slipped shut.

"What is that? What did you do? Is he okay?" Danny released his hold on Wulf, his arms aching after the poor attempt to keep the man from hurting himself or them with all his thrashing.

"He was being poisoned. I cured him." Lancer recapped the bottle and placed it back in his drawer. He turned and gave Danny a good look over before he retrieved a first aid kit. "You should wash up."

Danny glanced down at the blood on his hands and shirt. Then he snapped his gaze back to Lancer. "You," he pointed a finger at his teacher while Lancer cleaned up Wulf's wound and started wrapping it with bandages. "You're a witch."

"Very perceptive." Lancer wore a tiny smirk. "Masters might need to take back his comment about you."

Danny pressed the heels of his palms against his forehead as he paced the kitchen. "Why couldn't this just be a normal town?" He dropped his hands and stared at Lancer. "I just wanted a normal life."

Lancer finished tying off the bandages then stepped over to Danny. His eyes glanced over Danny's body, making the young man squirm. "You are anything but normal." The comment made Danny swallow nervously. "Wash up. I'll alter some clean clothes for you to wear." Lancer stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Danny alone with the unconscious Wulf.

With a tired sigh, Danny walked over to the sink. His eyes fell onto the bloody shirt there. Then he looked at his hands, covered in Wulf's blood. Visions, memories, flashed in his mind. Everything hit him at once. He leaned over the sink, heaving vomit into the metal basin until there was nothing left in his stomach. When he finished, Danny slid down onto his knees and pressed his head against the cabinet door.

"Do you even realize how annoying it is to clean up blood?" Lancer asked as he returned to the kitchen.

Danny turned to stare at his teacher. "Can you fix me?" He could hear the plea in his voice and knew he probably looked really pathetic to the man.

Lancer frowned gravely as he crouched down beside him. "No." The simple answer felt like a knife driving through Danny's body. "I don't even know what was done to you."

"I don't really know either." Danny turned around to lean his back against the cabinet under the sink. He buried his head in his knees. Lancer placed a hand on Danny's head, the touch offering only a little comfort to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Wulf left Lancer's house sometime in the late afternoon the next day. He felt bad after bleeding out all over the man's kitchen and insisted on helping him clean up the mess and do some general housekeeping to repay his teacher for helping him. Lancer told him it was unnecessary, but Wulf felt he owed the man. When he arrived back at his apartment, he collapsed onto the mattress thrown down in the center of the small space. He pulled up his shirt and ripped the bandages from around his waist. Beneath the stained gauze was smooth, undamaged flesh. After Lancer cured him of the poison, Wulf's healing kicked in, and flesh and muscle knitted back together seamlessly. No one would ever be able to tell that he was shot with a tracking device laced with poison.

With a sigh, Wulf lay back on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling. His apartment was a simple one room with a tiny kitchenette consisting basically of a refrigerator, stove and microwave. He had a bathroom and closet attached to the room as well. The only furniture he really had in the apartment was the mattress for his bed and a desk where he did his homework and served as his table for eating. He didn't need much in the way of material items to live. He had a fund with money left to him, but he saved the money mostly to pay for rent on the apartment and high school tuition, and for college, if he got accepted anywhere. He took only what little he needed to buy food and occasionally clothes, which sadly was becoming more often than he liked. His shirt from last night was ruined with a hole in it and blood staining it. Wulf sighed as he threw an arm over his eyes.

He missed his family. Since he was fifteen, he lived on his own. He swallowed as he remembered how he came to live in this dump of an apartment. His first fifteen years were wonderful, and his family all loved him. They were happy and at peace in this small town where the supernatural weren't as feared and hunted as in other parts of the world. But that sense of security also cost them in the end. It was a full moon, just like the prior night, when it happened. His family took to the woods after the change occurred, as they usually did. They were able to control their urges, though the youngest of his family had more trouble than the rest. But as long as they stuck to the woods, they never worried about the children accidentally attacking humans. But that night was different. Hunters passed through town that night and stumbled upon his family. Wulf could only watch as fear rooted him to the spot. The hunters massacred his family, carving up even the children who were no older than six.

Wulf rubbed at his eyes, hot tears threatening to spill as the images from that night remained burned in his memory. When they came for him, he tried to fight, clawing at the hunters. He might have taken one of the hunters down, but he couldn't be sure. The hunters injured him badly, breaking his leg and piercing his body with arrows until he could barely move any more. He was only saved when Lancer appeared, casting a spell of protection over him. The witch was far too late to save his family, and Wulf sometimes thought it would be better if Lancer left him to die there with the rest of his pack. A teleportation spell helped them escape from the hunters. Wulf wasn't sure what happened to the hunters after that, but they never showed up again.

The hunters that tried to capture him last night weren't the same as the ones from three years ago. Wulf frowned as his hand settled on the spot where he was wounded last night. He thought for certain that he would be seeing his pack again until Danny suddenly appeared. He remembered the new kid from class. Danny sat next to him in history. Wulf never thought the man would be in the woods last night or even that the man would help him escape from the hunters. Danny hardly seemed like anything more than an average human, yet he risked his life to help Wulf. There weren't many people in the world that would help werewolves. They were monsters and feared, and sometimes Wulf agreed with them. He felt like the beast they all feared.

The light filtering in through the window dimmed, growing darker as the sun set. Wulf sat up with a sigh. It was the final night of the full moon. He had decent control over his change during normal times, could control the bloodlust, but during the full moon, the change was forced. He only reverted to human last night because of the pain of being shot. Pain was a very good trigger to returning to human form after the change. Wulf climbed to his feet and walked toward the door of his apartment. Returning to the forest until the full moon ended was risky. The hunters might be lurking in the forest again to track the werewolf. The park had some secluded sections that were thick with bushes and trees that could provide plenty of cover. He knew the spots where people hardly went. He could safely hide there. _As long as the hunters don't think to stake out the park too_ , Wulf thought moodily as he left the building.

The walk to the park only took minutes. Wulf passed several people still wandering through the park as he headed toward one of the hidden spots within the park. When he reached the spot with a nice thick bush blocking the view, he settled down in the bush and waited until darkness came. The full moon appeared in the sky, barely visible through the gap in the branches above him. The change came, and Wulf ground his teeth, fighting back a howl of pain. Bone shifted and muscles adjusted. Fur sprouted and fangs sharpened. His body was slightly larger than a regular wolf with dark fur. His eyes flashed silver as a growl rumbled from his chest. No matter how many times he experienced the change, he never got used to it. The pain never dulled. He stood on all fours, shaking his body as he got used to his new form.

The hunger of the wolf gnawed at him, urged him to seek fresh meat to sink his fangs into, but Wulf resisted that old desire. He had a full eighteen years to learn to contain the hunger of the wolf within him. It was easier for him being naturally born as a werewolf. Everyone in his family was born a werewolf for over a century. Now he was the sole survivor of his pack's line. A lone wolf wasn't much in a fight if a team of hunters got it surrounded. Last night only served to remind him that he was weak and in danger of being picked off like his pack, his family. He missed hunting with his pack. He missed learning about all the things that werewolves were capable of. He still had much to learn when his pack was taken from him.

Wulf kept to the shadows, prowling through the secluded area of the park. He wanted to run with the cool night air whipping around him and that sense of freedom that came from the simple act. But even in this isolated area, he needed to be careful. He couldn't risk running around and being seen by someone. Plenty of other supernatural beings lived within Amity Park, and many of them would ignore a lone wolf roaming through the park, but there were still even more humans here that would scream and run for help if they spotted him.

The early hours of the morning came quickly, and the sun would rise soon. Wulf made his way back to his hiding place when he stopped. He heard the slow, gentle beat of someone's heart. The smell of leather lingered in the air, along with the scents he identified as loneliness and misery. Wulf followed after it curiously, wondering who it might belong to. As a werewolf, his senses were always heightened, but at school, there were so many various scents coming from every single student and staff member. He had to block off his sense of smell most of the time or he got overwhelmed by all of them. When he grew close enough that the beating heart echoed loudly to his ears, Wulf paused and crouched low in the bushes. He didn't see anyone around even if he could hear and smell the person. Then he lifted his gaze and spotted the man sitting on a low branch of a tree.

Wulf stood suddenly, leaves from the bush rustling with the movement. He recognized that man! The noise he made didn't go unnoticed, and the dark haired man stiffened, his heart beating a touch faster. He turned his head, searching the ground below until his eyes landed upon Wulf. Growing fearful of his presence being noticed, Wulf dropped back onto the ground to hide within the bush, but he was fairly certain that the man wouldn't have missed a large wolf. When the man dropped out of the tree, landing gracefully on his feet, Wulf felt panic creeping through him. The man walked right toward him, and Wulf shrank back. Why did he have to be discovered by someone so human?

"Hey there," the man greeted as he crouched down before the bush. His aqua green eyes met with Wulf's eyes through the leaves of the bush. There was no sense of fear within those eyes. Wulf would have understood things better if the man showed fear. Instead, he saw nothing but calmness and understanding. His brow knitted at that thought. A hand reached through the bush, and Wulf's first instinct was to bite, shortly followed by to run. But he was too stunned to even move, trapped by the look in the man's eyes. The hand patted his head, fingers moving to scratch behind his ear like he was a pet dog. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the simple human contact. He knew the wisest move would be to leave now, run far away from this man. When the sun rose soon, he would change back, and he didn't want the man to see that happen. But ever since he lost his family, Wulf didn't have much interaction with the other students at Casper High. Those that knew what he was didn't want anything to do with a werewolf, and he worried about the normal humans discovering what he was. But he couldn't seem to make himself leave when this man didn't look at him like he was a monster.

"What are you doing?"

Wulf recognized the new voice, and he smelled the fear creeping through the man.

"Nothing," the man said, quickly snapping his hand away from Wulf as he stood.

"Kwan." The other man came into view as he grabbed Kwan by the arm before he could walk away. "Do you honestly think I can't tell when you're lying?" He yanked Kwan toward him. A predatory smirk spread across his face.

The fear and panic radiating from Kwan was almost overwhelming. "Let go, Skulker," Kwan ordered with a growl in his voice.

Skulker grabbed hold of Kwan's throat, choking him as he tried to pry the hand away. The wolf in him urged him to take action, but Wulf caught a glimpse of aqua green flashing in his direction like Kwan was telling him to remain hidden and unnoticed. "I can't do anything to you yet," Skulker grumbled with frustration as he pulled Kwan even closer to him. "Not while you're still under the protection of that vampire. But," the smirk returned to his face, "as soon as we graduate, you become fair game. I do hope you put up a bit of a challenge in the hunt, but either way, I'll be leaving this pathetic rock with you in my possession." He released his hold on Kwan, who dropped to his knees and coughed as he rubbed at his throat.

"I won't be that easy to capture," Kwan muttered when he could breathe again.

Skulker snorted as he crouched down before the Asian man. "No one else wants you." His voice was cold and harsh, and Wulf heard Kwan's heart nearly stop at those words. "Your parents don't even care about you. When I take you, no one is going to mourn your loss. To them, you're just another face in the crowd." He leaned in close to the frozen jock, and though his words were whispered, Wulf could still hear him. "You're better off just resigning yourself to your fate. You've belonged to me ever since that first moment I saw you. And trust me, I'm looking forward to adding you to my collection. You'll be my prized jewel." Skulker stood, smirking down at the frozen, terrified man. "It won't be long now." He continued walking along the path through the park, satisfied with adding yet another crack to Kwan's will to fight.

Wulf could see it clearly in the way Kwan held himself with his eyes wide in fear. Kwan's breath was so slow that it was almost like he wasn't breathing at all. Skulker was breaking through whatever defenses Kwan put up to protect himself from his teammate. Wulf wasn't sure about the whole story behind the two men, but it was clear that Kwan needed saving. Time was running short for him, but Wulf crawled out from the bush. It was stupid to approach the man when in moments he would be changing back to human. Wulf walked up to Kwan, nudging his wet nose against the man's cheek. Kwan flinched, broken out of the panic consuming him. When he looked upon the wolf, his gaze softened.

"Oh, you're still here," Kwan mumbled. His hands buried into the dark fur, stroking the wolf's back. Then before Wulf could react, Kwan wrapped his arms around the wolf and pressed his face into the fur of the wolf's neck. Wulf never received a hug since his pack was murdered and honestly didn't know how to respond to this sudden display. Why would any human hug a wolf? But Kwan clearly needed some sort of comfort after that encounter with Skulker, so Wulf resigned himself to being just that. He sat there quietly while Kwan's tears dampened his fur and Kawn's arms tightened around his neck.

The light of the morning sun hit them, and Wulf felt the change coming over him again. He fought against it, struggling against nature to keep his wolf form. It was difficult and painful, and he nearly howled out in agony. He kept fighting it until he heard Kwan's heart slow and his breathing even out. Kwan cried himself to sleep against the wolf. With that in mind, Wulf gave in, allowing the change to take place. He cringed his body shifted, hair and claws and teeth drawing back into him. Kwan's arms remained wrapped around his neck and his face still buried in the crook of the now very human Wulf's neck. With a sigh, Wulf picked the man up. He couldn't simply leave Kwan sleeping in the middle of the park. As he walked back to his apartment, he shook his head, the events of the past two nights replaying in his mind.

When he arrived back at his apartment, Wulf laid Kwan carefully down on his mattress, trying not to disturb the man's sleep. Kwan rolled onto his side, hugging the pillow to his chest as he pressed his face into the soft, fluffy item. A tiny smile seemed to tug at his mouth, but it was a mere ghost that faded quickly from his tired expression. Wulf ran a hand through his hair, trying to determine why he would do something as silly as bringing a mere human into his home. He didn't have any idea where Kwan actually lived though, and his parents were sure to ask questions if Wulf showed up there at the crack of dawn with their son asleep in his arms. Ridding his mind of how that conversation might play out, he entered the bathroom to prepare for the day. He washed up, brushed his teeth, and styled his hair before leaving the bathroom. As he walked toward his closet, he glanced toward the mattress where Kwan remained peacefully asleep. He would need to wake the man soon or they would both be late for school. He changed out of his grimy clothes and into a clean pair of jeans and a dark shirt. Then he walked over to the kitchenette and started making coffee for two.

At the aroma of brewing coffee, Kwan rolled away from the pillow and onto his back. His eyes opened and glanced about the small apartment before he suddenly bolted up on the mattress. Fear and panic joined the scent of coffee. Kwan scanned the apartment more slowly as his heart raced. Eventually his gaze came to rest on Wulf, and they stared at each other for a moment until Kwan snapped his head away with a look of embarrassment.

"What am I doing here?" Kwan asked in a voice that trembled.

"I didn't think it wise to just leave you asleep in the park," Wulf explained, folding his arms as he leaned against the counter. "Do you often spend your nights sleeping in the park?"

"No," Kwan answered, but Wulf heard the telltale beat of his heart that indicated a lie. His eyes flicked toward Wulf. "Do _you_ spend your nights in the park?"

Wulf lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Sometimes."

Kwan opened his mouth to respond but turned away again. A lost look passed over him, like he expected Wulf to lie about his nightly activities. With a shake of his head, he climbed to his feet. In such a small apartment, it didn't take him long to figure out where the bathroom was. He entered, shutting the door behind him, and a moment later, Wulf heard the water running. He guessed the man was washing his face, removing the evidence of his tears. Taking out two mugs from his cabinet, Wulf poured coffee into each mug. When he finished, he glanced toward the bathroom door as it opened again. Kwan stood there, looking awkward about being in the other man's apartment.

"I should go," Kwan mumbled, though he didn't make any movement toward the apartment door.

"It's still pretty early." Wulf carried the mugs with him as he crossed the apartment. When he stopped before Kwan, he held out one mug toward the man as he sipped from the second mug.

Kwan hesitated but eventually took the mug. He took a sip then made a face. "Ugh, it's bitter."

Wulf snorted into his mug. "I take it you aren't much of a coffee drinker."

With a small flush of color, Kwan looked away. "Never really tried it," he admitted in a mumble. He sipped again at the coffee, and Wulf tried not to laugh at the scrunched up face he made.

"You don't have to drink it if you don't like it." Wulf grinned at the man's embarrassment. Once he finished his mug of coffee, Wulf carried it over to the sink. He would worry about washing it later, after school. When he glanced over to the other man, he saw Kwan quickly gulping down the remains of his coffee, making many different faces at the bitter taste of the black coffee. After finishing it, Kwan placed the empty mug in the sink next to Wulf's mug.

"I should really go now," Kwan announced, his gaze darting toward the door. "I still have to get ready for school."

"I'll walk you." Wulf crossed the apartment. After witnessing what happened in the park, he felt this need to protect the man. Skulker seemed to know exactly what buttons to press to break Kwan down, and his efforts were working far too well. After grabbing his bag, Wulf opened the door to his apartment.

"You really don't have to," Kwan insisted as he passed through the door.

Wulf ignored him as they left the apartment building. Kwan could say he was fine as many times as he liked, but Wulf knew he was anything but fine. His heart quickened a beat, and he licked his lips nervously. He wiped sweaty palms on his pants, trying to act natural, but Kwan's nervousness seemed to grow as they neared his house. Wulf frowned as he watched the man walking alongside him.

"Stay here," Kwan ordered, stopping Wulf at the end of the walkway leading up to a decently sized three story house. His eyes burned into Wulf's eyes, begging the man to follow this one simple command.

Wulf huffed but remained where he was standing. Kwan hurried into his house to get ready for school. Wulf focused his hearing upon the man, his brow furrowing in concentration. The door slammed after Kwan, and voices were heard in Wulf's sensitive hearing.

"Where were you last night?" a man demanded as Kwan's footsteps darted up the stairs.

Wulf could hear anger and disappointment in the man's voice, like he hoped that Kwan wouldn't return after disappearing for the night. When he heard something like a punch and a clatter of noise that didn't hide a thud, Wulf resisted the urge to charge though the front door. What exactly was happening within the house?

"When we ask you a question, you answer!" the man shouted furiously.

"Yes, Sir," Kwan mumbled, and Wulf strained to hear it even with his superior senses.

"You think," something slammed into a wall, "that you can just walk in and out of this house without telling us anything about your whereabouts?"

Wulf growled, a deep rumble in his chest, as Kwan offered a mumbled, "No, Sir." The man tried to sound like a concerned parent after his son finally returned after a night of worrying. But Wulf doubted the man suffered from any loss of sleep last night when Kwan didn't come home.

"Miss curfew again and don't think about coming back. Your mother can't take worrying about you any longer." A door slammed, and Wulf clenched his jaw. Claws threatened to come out, and he tried to reign back his anger before the wolf took control. He could feel the wolf raging inside him after everything he heard.

In two and a half moments, Kwan stepped out of the house with his head bowed. He changed his clothes, grabbing his letterman jacket and book bag. It wasn't until he reached the end of the walkway and found Wulf scowling darkly at him that he remembered the other man's presence. "You didn't really have to wait for me," Kwan mumbled, his gaze turned away, but Wulf didn't miss the misery and pain within those aqua green eyes.

"I said I'd walk you," Wulf grumbled much too gruffly. He didn't leave Kwan's side as they headed toward Casper High. With his bowed, Kwan remained silent as they walked. Wulf couldn't think of anything to fill the silence. He wasn't exactly a great conversationalist, and he didn't think after everything he witnessed that he could speak without snapping or sounding perpetually angry for no reason. The tension in the air between them was almost thick enough to cut with a knife by the time they finally reached the school.

"Kwan!" The shout came from a woman that Wulf only vaguely recognized as being part of the popular crowd. He didn't spend much time paying attention to them so never bothered to learn any of their names.

"Valerie," Kwan responded with much less enthusiasm when the woman reached him.

Grabbing hold of Kwan's arm, Valerie sent a scalding glare at Wulf before she dragged her friend away toward the entrance of the school. "What were you doing with that loser?" she demanded, pulling Kwan along. "He'll just bring down your reputation. Besides, he's creepy. He has that whole serial killer vibe to him. You should stay away from him."

Wulf scowled at her comments as he headed toward one of the side entrances to avoid having to listen to her saying anything further about him. Kwan, he noticed, didn't make any attempt to respond to her opinions. He continued to remain silent, and Wulf wasn't sure he liked that fact. The man seemed to be in serious need of help but was too scared to ask anyone for it.


	10. Chapter 10

Danny jerked out of sleep as he gasped for breath. His chest heaved with each desperate intake. Sweat prickled at his brow as he tried to forget the images of his nightmare. It started out like all the usual ones that he had ever since the incident seven - no, eight months now - ago. But then it morphed into something else. Even now as he lay awake in his bed in the early hours of the morning, he could feel the tickle of fear at his back that he couldn't shake. There was a sense that something was coming, something awful and unstoppable.

Danny reached up and rubbed at his eyes as he exhaled a deep breath. "This is Tucker's fault," he mumbled before climbing out of bed. His friend _had_ to make mention of magic coming with a cost. When he talked to Sam the following day, she tried to tell him that Tucker was being silly. After all, if eight months passed without anything turning up, it was highly unlikely that some beast would suddenly attack him because of the magic she used. Danny wanted to trust what Sam said, but she wasn't exactly the best when it came to casting magic. In the past, many of her spells tended to go wrong. It seemed like a miracle that she pulled off what she did that night.

Shaking his head, Danny walked toward the bathroom for a quick shower. He smelled after a restless, sweaty night of tossing and turning in his sleep. After showering, he threw on whatever clean clothes that he could find, making a mental note to remember to get his laundry done sometime soon. With his book bag slung over his shoulder, he headed down the stairs to the kitchen. His father sat at the table with his head in his hand as he sluggishly ate a bowl of cereal. His expression was miserable.

"Did we get the wrong kind of cereal again?" Danny asked jokingly though he was pretty certain he knew the reason for his father to look so unhappy.

"Huh?" Jack glanced at his son like he only realize right then that Danny entered the kitchen. The question caught up to him, and he shook his head. "I thought for sure we were going to catch something this weekend. Full moon and all! I could have sworn we hit a werewolf with that tracker. We followed it for a good portion of that night, but we found the tracker just lying there on the forest floor." He sighed, hanging his head in depression. He was always like this when hunts ended without success. "We tried again last night, but nothing showed up."

"Sorry to hear that." Mentally, Danny sighed with relief. He knew last night was the last in the cycle of the full moon and worried that Wulf might be lurking around within the forest again. The forest was a big area, and Danny couldn't patrol the whole area alone trying to watch out for his classmate. "Maybe next time. I should be heading to school." He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen counter.

"We might have better luck on the winter solstice," Jack mumbled, pushing the remainder of cereal around the bowl with his spoon. "Oh, your friends' parents called. Apparently, they think they might be able to come down here during the winter break." He set down the spoon and used his patented fatherly glare on Danny. "You know your mother and I aren't exactly fond of the Mansons."

"You don't even have to meet with them," Danny argued. "They'll probably want to be put up in some hotel anyway. But please don't tell them no! I really want to see Sam and Tucker again." He pouted at his father, trying to use his best puppy dog look to make his father say yes.

Jack grumbled but consented in the end. From the very beginning, there was a huge rift between Danny's parents and Sam's parents. Her parents didn't know anything about Sam's magic. They had zero belief in the supernatural and constantly claimed that Danny was a poor influence on their daughter. Sam was already into the supernatural and magic long before Danny came into her life. But the argument about whether the supernatural existed or didn't exist was a heated battle between the two sets of parents. Danny doubted their parents would ever get along with each other.

After thanking his father with a quick hug, Danny hurried out of the house. His mother still refused to allow him to drive the car again. With a sigh, Danny started his walk toward school. It was mid December now, which meant if all parties agreed, that it wouldn't be long before Sam and Tucker were able to come visit him. That thought made him grin as he entered the school and headed for his locker. After getting what he needed for his morning classes, Danny walked toward his chemistry class. He managed to get most of his homework done over the weekend, even managing a crude poem for English. Gore seemed to want to kill him with rhyming, and Danny gritted his teeth at that thought. He really didn't understand what he did to the teacher to make him hate him so much.

When he reached his seat, Danny got out his chemistry book and notes. Abner already sat beside him with the sloppy mess of papers scattered on his side of the lab station. His head rested on one hand, and his eyes were closed like he fell asleep during an extremely boring lecture. In most classes, that would be completely understandable. Danny found it hard to stay awake sometimes when his teachers started rambling during a lecture. His conversation with Tucker came to mind as he noticed the bandages on Abner's hands and wrists. It wasn't really any of his business, but his concern drove him to wanting to find out the truth. Danny reached over and gave the dusty blond man a poke in the side.

Abner jerked awake, sending a scattering of papers to the floor between them. When they both reach down to grab them, their heads banged into each other. "Sorry about that," Abner said, rubbing at his head as they picked up the fallen papers. Sighing, he tried to establish some order to the mess. "I'm such a spazz." He buried his head in his arms.

"Don't worry about it," Danny said as he gathered up some of Abner's papers and straightened them into a neat stack. He watched the man as Abner rubbed his hands over his tired face. "Are you feeling all right? You look pretty tired."

"Yeah." Abner sighed as he leaned on one hand again. "Just really exhausted. I stayed up half the night trying to finish off all my homework. I think I passed out somewhere around three, and then woke up at five."

"Waited until the minute, huh?" Danny grinned at the embarrassed look on Abner's face.

When Miss Johnson started talking, they both tried to focus on class, but Danny's attention kept drifting toward Abner and his bandages. What was really going on with the other man? He chewed on his lower lip, debating throughout the class if he should ask Abner about it. Tucker did have a point. If Abner was cutting himself, having someone to talk to might help him.

Today they got to work on a lab experiment. Miss Johnson walked about the room, checking on their work as they measured out chemicals to mix over a Bunsen burner. Danny carefully measured out one of the chemicals, double checking with his book to be sure he had it correct then added it into their beaker. His eyes glanced toward Abner, who stirred the mixture with a thin glass rod.

"Abner," Danny said cautiously, and Abner turned his pale hazel eyes upon him. "I know it's none of my business, but those bandages-"

"I'm just clumsy," Abner said with a weak laugh. He checked the next step of the experiment then started to measure out the next chemical.

Danny struggled with how to bring the topic up. Sighing, he tugged down the sleeve of his shirt and laid his arm on the table top between them so that his wrist was revealed to the man. "I know what it's like," he mumbled with his gaze lowered, only half taking in the sight of the scarred flesh.

Abner paused in his measurement and stared at what Danny showed him. Silence passed between them for several moments before Abner grabbed his arm and tugged Danny closer to him. "I'm not cutting myself," he whispered very quietly into Danny's ear. His voice sounded urgent, like he _needed_ Danny to believe him.

"Prove it," Danny ordered, frowning at him. If he had nothing to hide, then Abner wouldn't mind showing what lay beneath his bandages.

"I-" Abner's gaze flicked away. Then he suddenly pushed Danny away. Stumbling over his chair, Danny tripped and fell, hitting his back on the floor as his chair clattered next to him. A second later, he heard a small explosion that made several other students let out startled shouts.

"Everyone, calm down," Miss Johnson ordered, taking command of the classroom as she made her way over to their station. "Was anyone hurt?"

"We're okay," Abner answered in a shaky voice.

Danny was too stunned to respond. How did their experiment even explode? Nothing that they added into the beaker should have had a reaction like that. After Miss Johnson helped him to his feet, Danny glanced over their station. Shards of the broken beaker were scattered across the table top and spilled onto the floor around it. Some of the liquid from the beaker splattered over everything on their station, but luckily the mixture didn't contain an acid. Their papers and books suffered a bit from being sprayed with the mixture, but it wasn't anything too bad. His gaze darted to Abner, who had a small cut over his right eye.

The end of class bell rang at that moment. The other students quickly gathered up their things and headed for the door after hearing Miss Johnson tell them their assignment for the night.

"You boys can head to your next class. I'll take care of this mess." Miss Johnson already started cleaning up the spilled liquid over the table top.

"I can help!" Abner offered eagerly.

Danny sighed, realizing he missed his opportunity. He couldn't ask the man anything more with their teacher hovering around. After gathering up his things, he headed for the door with the event still replaying in his mind. Did Abner really push him out of the way _before_ the explosion happened? Danny scratched his head at that fact. On the way out the door, he bumped shoulders with someone else. "Sorry," he said immediately, only receiving a grunt in response from the man with shoulder length blond hair as they passed each other.

Hurrying through the hallways, Danny barely made it to history in time. He sighed as he collapsed into his seat. Cogsworth watched him with those eerie eyes again before he turned to start class. Leaning back in his seat, Danny pulled out his books for history when a folded bit of paper landed on his desk. With a frown, he picked it up and read the quick scrawl upon the paper: Thanks. He blinked at the simple message then turned his head to look around the classroom. His eyes fell upon Wulf, who met his eyes for a brief moment, giving the most subtle of nods before his attention returned to their teacher. Danny smiled a little as he started taking notes on the history lecture. He didn't help Wulf for any sort of reward or acknowledgment, but receiving a simple thanks made him feel better.

Each class that morning seemed to drag on slowly. Danny left his final class before lunch with a tired sigh. He was looking forward to seeing what Dash brought them all for lunch. The thought of Dash caused a smile to appear on his face as he walked through the hallway toward his locker. He wanted to find Abner, hoping the man shared the same lunch as him, so that he could try to talk some more to the man about what he was hiding with those bandages. It really wasn't any of his business. He knew that. But he couldn't seem to ignore it. Abner was hiding something, like many people in this school it seemed. Danny rubbed at his head, trying to remind himself that he really shouldn't be sticking his nose into everyone's problems. Wasn't that how he ended getting into so much trouble? Trouble, he snorted, seemed to find him well enough without his help.

Before Danny even reached his locker, Dash found him. Danny grinned at him about to greet him when Dash grabbed him by the bicep and dragged him through the hallway. "Uh, what's going on?" Danny asked in confusion as he stumbled along, trying to keep pace with Dash's quick stride. "Isn't the theater in the opposite direction?"

"We need to talk." Dash said nothing more as he dragged Danny toward one of the exits of the school and out into the chilly afternoon. He didn't release Danny until they were alone in the parking lot with no one around to hear them.

"What is this about?" Danny asked, getting that very bad feeling that something horrible was about to happen. He swallowed thickly and half expected to get a fist right to the face. But what could he have done to make Dash want to punch him? Dash seemed agitated about something, and it was making Danny worry all the more.

Dash was silent for several long moments as he stared at the pavement between them. Folding his arms, he lifted his head. The look in Dash's eyes when they met his eyes made Danny gulp nervously. "I'm a telepath," he said at last, his voice low and his gaze holding Danny's bright blue eyes. Silence stretched on after that confession.

"What?" Danny gasped like he was punched in the gut. His mind couldn't seem to process Dash's words. He really couldn't escape the supernatural, could he? Even his dream guy had to have some supernatural connection.

"A telepath," Dash repeated with tension in his voice. "I hear people's thoughts. I never actually planned on telling you anything about this, but your thoughts are so damn loud." He sighed and raked a hand through his blond locks. "I overheard about your parents being hunters." With a frown, he searched Danny's eyes, seeking something that Danny couldn't name. "Are you like your parents? Are you a hunter too?"

"No!" Danny shouted, thankful that they were outside and far away from anyone that might hear them. Anger flashed in his eyes at that question. "I don't go looking for the supernatural in order to kill each and every one of them. They find me!" His hand slapped against his chest. He glared darkly at Dash as he ground his teeth. "I've only killed the things that were attacking me or someone else. As long as you're not about to tell me you plan to go off and hurt someone, I don't care what the hell you are, and I'm sure as hell not going to go off and tell my parents. My parents don't know shit about the things I've seen or what I've been through. Do you think I like listening to my parents describe _in detail_ all the things they want to do if they ever manage to get their hands on something supernatural? Shit, Dash! One of my best friends is a witch!"

Some of the tension in Dash's body relaxed while he listened to Danny's rant. "But you can understand where I'm coming from, can't you? What was I supposed to think when I hear you thinking about your parents being hunters? It scared me, Danny! How could I know where you stand in all of this unless I confronted you and asked about it?"

"I'm nothing like my parents, and I never want to be anything like them." Danny dropped onto the curb of the parking lot and buried his head in his hands. "They're so damn obsessed with the supernatural that they can't even see-" His mouth snapped shut, and slowly Danny lifted his head. His fearful gaze met with Dash's curious dark blue eyes, and he swallowed. "Just how much of my thoughts did you hear?" Panic grabbed hold of him, squeezing the air out of his lungs as his hearts quickened in his chest.

"I only pick up on surface thoughts, and you were broadcasting fairly loudly so it was pretty hard to ignore." Dash chuckled, but it sound off like he was forcing the effort because he knew this current situation wasn't even the slightest bit funny.

"No!" Danny snapped, hands gripping his knees tightly. "Do you know?" It was becoming a struggle to breathe, but Danny fought through it to speak. "Do you know what happened to me?"

"I know there's something you're hiding," Dash answered with a frown. His brow knitted as he watched Danny. "But you made the effort not to think about it around me, so I don't know what exactly it is you're hiding. I might be a telepath, but I can't read what you're not thinking about. And I _won't_ try to dive into your mind to figure it out." His voice was very firm when he spoke the last statement. His steady gaze held Danny's eyes, enforcing that fact. "If it's something you want to talk about, then you'll have to speak about it on your own. I don't even like hearing people's thoughts." A scowl came over him as Dash looked away from Danny.

The news only alleviated a tiny portion of Danny's anxiety. He bent his head down, resting it between his legs, as he tried to force air back into his lungs. He felt close to breaking down and looking like a pathetic idiot in front of Dash if he didn't quickly recollect himself. _It's okay. He doesn't know_. Danny closed his eyes, focusing on that single fact.

"Danny." Dash's soft voice made Danny glance up. The blond man crouched down before him with concern in his eyes. "You're starting to worry me."

"Don't ask me to tell you," Danny begged, his voice thick with emotions as tears threatened to escape him. "I can't talk about it. Not yet."

"You don't have to say anything right now." Dash reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, but Danny flinched away from his touch. Fingers curling into a fist, Dash withdrew his hand. "But I think you need to talk to someone. I'm just worried about you, Danny. Talking to someone might help. We have counselors here. I'm sure one of them could help you through whatever happened."

Danny laughed bitterly. "Right," he muttered with a snort as he tore his gaze away from Dash. "Because talking about the supernatural won't make me sound crazy or anything."

Dash bit back a chuckle, but Danny heard a laugh escape before Dash managed to catch it. He snapped a glare onto the blond man. "I think you're underestimating the amount of supernatural beings that live here," Dash explained with a small twitch of his lips. He managed not to smirk too much at the dumbfounded expression splayed across Danny's face.

Dash was a telepath. Lancer was a witch. Wulf was a werewolf. Danny gaped at Dash as he recalled his joking comment about a whole town of well behaved supernatural beings. "Just how many people here are supernatural?" he asked in a quiet whisper filled with awe and shock. "Because with my parents here, that could be a nightmare for everyone. They might be completely clueless, but even throwing a dart in the dark, they're bound to hit something." He paled, remembering how close they came to capturing Wulf Saturday night. If Danny hadn't been there, Wulf might not have escaped on his own.

"It's a mixed bag here." Dash frowned, probably thinking along the same lines as Danny when it came to his parents and the fact they were hunters. "We've managed to live pretty well together, and most of the completely normal humans don't even realize that their neighbors might be a witch or a vampire or something else. As long as we're careful and don't give ourselves completely away, we should be pretty okay." But there was doubt in his expression.

Danny chewed on his lip, wondering if Dash heard his thoughts about what happened with Wulf. "This is going to be annoying with you reading minds." Danny groaned as he buried his head in his knees again.

"I don't try to." Dash sighed. "Just try not to think so loudly when you're around me. Or," he smirked as he leaned in close, his lips dangerously close to Danny's ear, "you could just keep thinking about how hot I am."

Danny shivered at the feel of warm breath washing over his ear. His face burned brightly with his embarrassment, and he was fairly certain he looked about as red as a tomato at this point. "You're so evil," Danny mumbled, shoving Dash away from him to put some much needed distance between them.

Dash laughed as he grabbed hold of Danny's arms and dragged him to his feet. "So evil I'm going to stuff that mouth of yours with some amazingly delicious food." He grinned as he pulled Danny behind him toward the school.


	11. Chapter 11

"Please try to refrain from talking during class." Lancer glared down his nose at the pair of men. Danny paled visibly, unable to meet his teacher's gaze. Dash, on the other hand, wasn't so easily cowed by the glare. Both of them gave a quick "won't happen again, Sir" before they returned their attentions to their work. Lancer clenched his jaw lightly as he watched the pair, his gaze lingering more on Danny than Dash. Even before Saturday night when Danny showed up on his doorstep supporting a wounded Wulf, Lancer noticed the clear signs of magic worked upon the young man. He huffed, a short sniff of an exhale, as he turned on his heel and returned to the front to classroom. Picking up from where he left off, he continued with the explanation of how to do the formula like the short interruption never took place.

Teaching math wasn't his first choice. When he first started as a teacher at Casper High, he taught English, which was always his favorite subject. He enjoyed reading, books being a passion of his. His home was filled with old tomes from ancients times detailing spells and rituals passed down through the ages from his ancestors, who like him were all witches. His mother was ecstatic when he demonstrated a gift for magic long before he could walk or talk. According to what she told him many years later when his training began, that was a very good sign that he would develop strong magic. His father wasn't as happy with this fact, never liking the whole idea of magic. His father was painfully normal and often times pretended that neither his wife nor his son was a witch.

When he got the English teaching position, Lancer was thrilled. It was a dream come true for him to shape young minds and rattle on about all the books he loved so much. That joy came to an unfortunate end for him several years ago when the Ghost Writer, or William Gore as his students would know him, arrived at their school. Lancer furiously fought to keep his position as the English teacher, not wishing to give up his dream to anyone, especially some child fresh out of college. Only Clockwork managed to convince him to step down from the position. It was hard to argue with a man that knew all of time, and Lancer reluctantly admitted that Clockwork had a point. They needed to keep the Writer here at the school. With the Writer's gift of his Quantum Keyboard, he could make virtually anything happen by simply writing it. In the wrong hands, the Writer could be very dangerous. Keeping him here, Clockwork assured him, was one way to keep the Writer from walking down a dark path that could lead the world to ruin.

With that warning in mind, Lancer took over in the mathematical department. Always thinking himself a bit of a renaissance man, he was well versed in many subjects and could have easily filled in for a position in any of the classes. But next to English, math was his next strongest subject, even if he found it boring and tedious at times. Much like his students, he noted when he caught one of them sleeping without even trying to be subtle about it. That was one of the greatest frustrations to him. Despite all his efforts to help his students reach their true potential, it often went ignored and unappreciated. He knew quite well that many of them hated him, thought he was too strict or simply mean, but he didn't expect to make friends with them.

"Crime and Punishment!" Lancer shouted, slapping a hand down on the desk.

The loud noise made the students jump, but when the dark haired man before Lancer jerked awake, he tumbled out of his chair. He hit the ground hard as he yelped in pain after his elbow slammed against the tiled flooring. Many of the students chuckled at this incident, but a quick glare around the room from Lancer silenced them. With a grumble, the man climbed to his feet, rubbing his pained elbow.

"I understand that life is so hard for you teenagers," Lancer said, almost allowing sympathy to enter his face. His glare followed the student as he righted his chair to sit down again. "But I would appreciate it if you _tried_ to stay awake until the end of my class."

"Maybe if this junk wasn't so boring and useless," the student muttered, getting a few laughs from his classmates.

"Congratulations, Anderson. You've just given yourself an extra one hundred problems to do for homework tonight." Lancer cracked a tiny smirk at the misery that came over his student's face.

"But that's not fair!" Anderson complained, sounding like a whiny five year old instead of a young man of eighteen.

"Would you like that to be two hundred problems, Anderson?" His smirk widened a fraction when Anderson groaned but kept his mouth shut. Lancer opened his mouth to continue with the day's lesson when the bell rang to end the day. "Remember. That's pages four sixty-seven and four sixty-eight for your homework." He glared down at Anderson. "And for you, four sixty-nine and four seventy as well."

Anderson grumbled, cramming his books roughly into his bag before he followed the rest of the students out of the classroom. He clearly didn't like being singled out and given extra homework. Lancer might have taken pity upon the young man, but he wanted his students to know that falling asleep was unacceptable in his class.

"Fenton," Lancer called before his student could escape into the hallway with the rest of his classmates. Danny hesitated at the door, sending a worried look toward Dash. Lancer sighed as he walked over to the pair. "This won't take long," he explained as he closed the door, shutting Dash out of the room.

"If this is about the talking in class, I promise it won't happen again," Danny said in a rush of words and nervous energy.

Lancer shook his head and guided Danny back toward his desk. "I certainly hope you can manage to keep your attention focused on class from now on, instead of eying the cute boy next to you." He held back a laugh at the flush of color splashed upon Danny's cheeks. Any fool could see the two young men were attracted to each other. Lancer leaned back against his desk as he folded his arms.

"Um," Danny mumbled, playing with the strap of his book bag as his eyes darted about the room. He couldn't seem to look at his teacher after his not very secret crush was out in the open between them. "It's not a problem, is it? I mean, the whole liking other guys thing."

"Fenton, your sexuality is nothing you should be ashamed of," Lancer said, frowning as he watched the way the man seemed to withdraw into himself. "I'm not here to judge you for who you find attractive. But please remember this is a school, not some sort of match making service."

"Yes, Sir!" Danny responded immediately. "Of course, Sir! From now on, all math on the brain while I'm in here." He gave a jerky nodded. Then his anxious eyes darted to the door. "Is that all?"

"Actually, I wanted to speak to you about what happened over the weekend." Lancer watched as Danny's body stiffened, his muscles tensing as beads of sweat gathered upon his forehead. "I'm thankful that you brought Wulf to me. He might not have made it through the night if he didn't get help soon enough."

Danny shook his head, dark hair flopping with the fervent action. "I didn't really do all that much. Wulf told me where to go. I wouldn't have known to bring him to you if he didn't tell me."

"But he never would have made it without your help." Lancer stared at Danny, his green eyes tracking the flickers of magic that lingered around the man. "The staff here, well," he chuckled a little, "the staff that it concerns, is well aware of what your parents do for a living." The color drained even more from his student's face, and Lancer absently wondered how pale Danny could get. He looked about as white as a ghost at this point. "You didn't think that we would be completely unaware of when hunters move into our town, did you? But, as you can probably imagine, some of the staff are little," his mouth curved downward, "less than happy about this development, and obviously see you as a potential threat."

"I'm not," Danny stated with a firmness in his voice that Lancer never heard until now. His blue eyes held Lancer with a hard glare. "If you're worried that my parents are going to learn about you or Wulf, you can stop worrying. I'm not telling them anything about what happened on Saturday. Why would I rescue Wulf from my parents just to turn around and hand him right to them by telling them what he is?"

"Fenton," Lancer said then sighed. "I wasn't trying to imply that I thought you would betray us." His eyes narrowed upon the man. "I'm surprised you can manage to live with your parents with what you are."

"And," Danny's voice trembled, and hesitation flashed in his eyes, "what am I?"

"I can't honestly say. I've never seen magic such as this done before. What I do know is that something terrible must have happened to you for that type of magic to be used." Lancer's hands tightened around his biceps as his imagination got away from him. There were too many possibilities to explain what happened to Danny without some sort of direction to narrow down the ideas. The fear shone clearly in Danny's eyes. "As a teacher here, I care a great deal for my students' well being. I don't expect you to trust me with your darkest secrets after only knowing each other for a few days. But I want you to know that if you ever need to talk, I'm always free to listen."

"I can't." Danny shook his head, his body quaking visibly.

"Fenton, you don't have to worry that I'll tell your parents anything. Whatever you have to confide in me will remain between us." Lancer reached out and placed a hand upon the man's shoulder. He didn't miss the way Danny jumped, tried to flinch away from him, but he kept a firm hold upon that shoulder, trying to offer some reassurance to the trembling man. "I'm here for you whenever you feel ready to talk."

Danny nodded, pink tongue darting out to lick dry lips. "I'll keep that in mind, Sir."

"I hope that you will." Lancer withdrew his hand, and Danny appeared to relax now that he was no longer being touched. "You are free to go now."

With a bob of his head, Danny hurried out of the classroom. Lancer sighed as he watched his student disappear out the door. Perhaps he came on a little too strongly in his attempt to make the young man open up to him. The prospect of speaking about what happened to him terrified Danny currently. Lancer needed Danny to know that there was someone that he could trust. Whatever happened to the man had a tight hold upon him. Fear could be a powerful ruler, and Lancer didn't want to see that destroy Danny.

Lancer gathered up his things, stuffing papers that needed to be graded into his briefcase. He had a meeting to attend, and he was fairly certain after his little conversation with Danny that the meeting would involve some yelling. That fact made him cringe and dread the conversation he was about to have. Sighing out, he left the classroom with a flip of the switch that shut off the lights. Plenty of students still lingered in the hallway, chattering away with each other. Lancer glared at one brunette, who quickly swallowed her gum when she noticed his stare. A well placed cough broke up a pair of students that looked a little too close to making out. The blonde woman flushed darkly as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand and dragged him off down the hallway with her.

Passing through one wing of the building as a short cut to his meeting, Lancer paused when the sight in one classroom caught his attention. He smirked inwardly as he watched the man hunched over his laptop. His wild white hair somehow was tamed into a ponytail today. His usual lab coat was tossed over the back of his chair while he remained focused entirely on his laptop. Lancer reminded himself to log into the game later and be sure to foul up the man's attempt to achieve victory, yet again. It was rather humorous that the man never even realized that his greatest foe was a fellow teacher.

"You know, Technus," Lancer said in a disapproving voice. Technus jumped, tossing a panicked look toward the door where Lancer stood, trying not to give away his amusement by masking his expression with a neutral one. "I'm fairly certain games on your work computer are against the rules. You wouldn't want to draw the attention of Walker."

"He's only here to keep an eye on Skulker." Technus scowled at him even while he quickly closed out of the game before the dreaded skeletal being appeared out of nowhere. Walker tended to have that ability, which made many of the staff members jumpy when it came to anything that may involve rule breaking.

"That may be so, but I have no doubts that he'll take pleasure in punishing anyone that breaks one the rules." Lancer landed a serious look on the man, and Technus gulped, knowing that Lancer was absolutely correct with that judgment. They all looked forward to the day when Walker left the planet with Skulker in tow.

"What's this about rule breaking?" At the woman's voice, Technus fell out of his seat, and Lancer didn't miss the bright flush that spread over his face.

"I was simply reminding our dear friend here that it may be best if he kept some hobbies out of the work place," Lancer explained, managing to keep the smirk off his face. "Did you need something, Miss Johnson?"

"Oh, I was just having a bit of trouble with my computer," Miss Johnson answered in mild embarrassment.

"I'll help!" Technus offered quickly as he pushed his way between the two teachers. "I am the computer science teacher, after all." His eyes narrowed at Lancer, like he expected the other man to try and step in his way.

"Well, I do have a meeting to get to," Lancer announced, half a smirk upon his face. He bowed his head in apology to the woman before he departed. Already, he wasted too much time, and the man waiting on him would no doubt be in a foul mood. He continued on through the hallways, rolling his eyes with a light smile on his face as he thought back on the short encounter with Technus and Miss Johnson. The other man was beyond obvious in his affection toward the chemistry teacher, yet they both danced around any idea of going on an actual date. The rest of the teachers finally gave up on the pool for when they thought the pair would finally become a couple since it was beginning to look like they never would.

When Lancer arrived in the front office, the woman at the desk gave him a pained look.

"I hope you're prepared to get chewed out by the big man," she said, glancing toward the office door. "He is not in a good mood right now."

"I apologize in advance if you overhear any foul language, Audrey," Lancer said, wiping a hand over his balding head. "Perhaps you should consider taking your break right now." He walked over to the door of the office as Audrey debated what he said. Then she stood, smoothing out the skirt of her blue dress before she left the front office. Lancer entered the room, closing the door behind him. It didn't surprise him to see Vlad glaring across the top of his laced fingers as he leaned on his desk. Lancer pretended the look didn't make him flinch. From the way the principal glared at him, Lancer wasn't certain if the man noticed his small twitch.

"You're late," Vlad grumbled as he lowered his arms, folding them over the desktop. His blue eyes remained narrowed at Lancer as the teacher took a seat in front of the desk.

"I wished to have a little chat with one my students," Lancer explained smoothly as he placed his briefcase on the floor next to his chair. "Surely, I'm allowed to do that."

"You," Vlad shouted, anger flashing across his expression. He caught himself and reigned that anger back into him. After taking a few deep breaths, he felt calm enough to speak again. "You told him that we know about his parents. He knows you're a witch."

"I knew those listening spells would bite me in the ass," Lancer muttered, scowling off toward the side of the room. "If you were listening to the whole thing, then you know that he's nothing like his parents. He poses no threat to us, and he's not going to expose any of us to his parents." A smirk pulled at his lips as he watched Vlad glower. "I wish I had taken that bet. You were certainly wrong about him being as oblivious as his parents. It didn't take him very long to realize what I was once he wasn't panicking over Wulf's condition."

Vlad's mouth pursed as he remained silent. The gears in his head turned, trying to formulate what he wished to say next. "Do you really have no idea what he is?"

Sighing, Lancer leaned forward as he laced his fingers and rested his head against his hands so that they pressed below his nose. "He's covered in traces of magic." His voice was quiet, thoughtful. He closed his eyes, drawing up the image of Danny in his mind. "It's a tangled mess, and I honestly don't know how it even managed to work. I'm not going to try to touch it though. I might be a strong witch, but I fear that trying to untangle what was done would only cause harm to him. For now, it's best to simply leave him be. I'm not quite sure what this makes him though. Something unique, is all I can guess. There's never been anything like him before, and I doubt anyone could manage to repeat what happened to him."

When their eyes met, Vlad frowned darkly. "I see," he murmured, none too thrilled with this news. "Then his life is likely in danger as well."

"I was thinking of that too. But," Lancer shook his head against his hands, "magic like that should have a cost to it. Even if it hasn't made itself known yet, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I can't guess what sort of price he'll have to pay, but it will come to collect from him sooner or later. My guess is sooner rather than later."

"Not while he's one of my students."

Lancer smirked behind his hands. "And now you care for him?"

"I care for all my students." Vlad stood, leaning over his desk as he scowled darkly at the man before him. "I was angry with you telling him that we knew because I don't think you've considered all the consequences. He may not tell his parents about us directly, but that doesn't mean he won't betray us unintentionally. Something could slip where his parents might hear. And if he's among our numbers, then he's in more danger than the rest of us. He lives with the enemy. How long can he really keep himself hidden under their watch?"

"I think you're still underestimating him." Lancer sat up straighter, no longer hiding his smirk. "I have a feeling he's a lot more capable than you're giving him credit for."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't anything about Esperanto, and I wasn't even going to try using some sort of online translator. Esperanto will be done in italics, assuming that the formatting doesn't get all messed up again.

After that morning, the only time he managed to catch sight of the jock was during their shared history class. Normally, Wulf didn't pay much attention to the other students in the classroom. Once he dropped the simple note of thanks on Danny's desk, because he never got the chance after the man helped him, Wulf pretended to be absolutely focused on Cogsworth's lecture. But his attention strayed more than once toward the pair of jocks in the rows ahead of him. Even with neither one of them speaking, Wulf could read their body language easily. Skulker acted like a predator, a hunter stalking its prey while Kwan shift uncomfortably under the gaze upon him. Kwan drew into himself, hunching his body like if he could make himself appear smaller, then Skulker wouldn't be able to hurt him. When he focused his sense of smell solely on Kwan, Wulf could pick up the fear and panic on him. His teeth ground painfully, and he wanted nothing more than to place himself between them and protect Kwan from Skulker's harassment.

After history class ended, Wulf never got the opportunity to see either jock again. His final period of the day was free, and he usually left right after sixth period finished. He didn't have much reason to loiter around until the school day officially ended since he lacked friends among his classmates. Danny seemed like an okay guy, but rescuing that random guy from history class didn't exactly place them as best buds, though Wulf wouldn't exactly complain if Danny tried to befriend him. Saturday night was a prime of example of why he needed someone to watch his back.

Debating his options for several long minutes, Wulf finally came to a decision. He turned down the hallway in the direction of the school's library. They weren't anything like friends, but Wulf knew that Sidney Poindexter was a TA in the library during his final period. He was only aware of this knowledge because on occasion Wulf needed help with his studies. The librarian never seemed to mind when Poindexter tutored people while he was her TA. Most of the work in placing returned books back in the proper spots was finished by the time last period rolled around, leaving Poindexter with little to do except catch up on his own studying if no one needed his help. Wulf felt a little sorry for the man since Poindexter was probably the most bullied student in the whole school. It was some sad and pathetic rite of passage that the school developed four years ago. Wulf wished he could deny being a part of it, but that would be a lie. It was only once back in freshmen year, and after that, he didn't bother the other man unless it involved tutoring.

When he arrived in the library, Wulf found the shorter man easily. Poindexter sat at one of the many tables with books laid out all around him as he worked on a laptop. His round glass, badly combed over raven hair, and bucked teeth contributed to his classic look of the average nerd. The bowtie, pocket protector, and plaid pants didn't help his image. It really wasn't any wonder why everyone in school decided to tease him mercilessly. Wulf took a seat opposite him at the table, and when he noticed he no longer sat alone, Poindexter yelped in surprise, jumping in his seat. By now, Poindexter had little reason to be afraid of him, but he still received a fright whenever Wulf seemed to mysteriously appear before him.

"What do you want?" Poindexter asked in a stuttering voice as he placed a hand over his chest. His heart raced, beating loudly in Wulf's ears.

" _Information_ ," Wulf answered, using the old language of Esperanto to communicate with the other man. They learned about three years ago that they were both well versed in the language. Whenever they wanted to talk without anyone that might be listening in on the conversation to know the topic of their discussion, they slipped into Esperanto, which very few students at their school knew. Only some of the nerdy students bothered to learn it, though Wulf picked up from his family.

Poindexter frowned over the top of his laptop. His brown eyes darted around the relatively empty library. Only the librarian could be seen at the checkout desk toward the front of the library. " _What sort of information?_ " He eyed the man before him curiously, an eyebrow lifting in wonder.

" _What do you have on Kwan Long?_ " Wulf leaned forward on the table, half tempted to peek at the screen of the laptop. But he knew it would be useless to try. Poindexter coded his information in a manner that only he understood, making it look like unintelligible gibberish to anyone that might glance at the screen while passing him.

After a few quick keystrokes, Poindexter returned his gaze to Wulf. " _Nothing of great interest there_." He shrugged and scanned the information that he gathered on the other student. " _Your average human_ ," because Poindexter despite his obvious human status knew quite a bit about the supernatural world. In that manner, he seemed like Danny, though something about that tickled at Wulf's senses. He couldn't quite place why he thought there was something off about his rescuer. " _Hm, it looks like he's been in and out of the hospital, mostly when he was younger. He suffered a few broken bones_." He returned his curious gaze to Wulf. " _Why are you asking about him?_ "

" _We met the other night. I got curious_." Wulf shrugged, passing it off as indifference. But hearing about Kwan's frequent trips to the hospital made his blood boil. After what he heard standing outside Kwan's home, Wulf had a sickening feeling about why Kwan visited the hospital so often. His claws threatened to come out while his anger raged beneath the surface. Kwan stayed silent under the abuse of his parents, under the harassment of Skulker, but still he refused to seek help from anyone.

" _You could always just ask him about himself_." A tiny smirked ghosted across Poindexter's face, receiving a dark glare in return. " _I still don't understand why you keep yourself cut off from everyone. I know why I have no friends. I'm a nerd that seems to have a magic draw for bullies. But you_ ," he shrugged as he looked Wulf over, " _you could make friends easily if you made the effort to get to know people_."

" _It's not that easy_." Wulf frowned as he turned his gaze away. Letting someone in was difficult after losing his pack, his family. He didn't think he could go through that again if he allowed someone to get close to him only to have them ripped away from him again. It was too hard, sometimes, simply remembering how alone he was when only three years ago he had a full pack to care for him and love him. But if he was going to survive the hunters, he would need to accept people into his life again. " _There's someone else I need to know information about_." He turned his green eyes back to Poindexter, his expression grave.

" _Who is it this time?_ " Poindexter's hands were poised over the keyboard, ready to search for information on anyone that the other man asked about.

" _Skulker_ ," Wulf answered simply, not missing the way Poindexter paled at the mere mention of the jock's name.

Poindexter was slower this time as he typed, his attention focused on the laptop. " _Alien race from a planet called_ ," his brow furrowed as he squinted at the screen, " _Cyonetic. I've never heard of that one. He apparently stole some sacred treasure from a neighboring planet, and the royal family decreed that his punishment would be to inhabit the lesser planet of Earth for three years_."

" _But what does he want with Kwan?_ " Wulf knew there was something strange about Skulker, but an alien race never entered his mind, though in retrospect the whole part about "leaving this pathetic rock" now made sense. It still didn't give him the answer he wanted.

Poindexter pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at the screen as he scrolled through the information. " _It seems that Skulker is considered a great hunter and has a large collection of various rare and unique items. That's about all I can really tell you_." He glanced over at Wulf, his brown eyes trying to gauge what reaction the man might have to that news.

His brow furrowed, casting dark shadows over his eyes, as his face scrunched up in thought. " _That doesn't really explain what he wants from Kwan_ ," Wulf growled in frustration. Kwan, as Poindexter said before, was an average human, hardly the most unique or rare thing in the known universe. If he was seeking something to add to his collection from Earth, why would Skulker want Kwan? Wulf turned the question over in his mind, but no answer came to him. Skulker had no reason to focus all his energy on Kwan if all he sought was a human to add to his collection. But Wulf couldn't see Skulker caring all that much about the human race if he wished to find something that was one of a kind. Earth was filled with plenty of supernatural beings that he could pick from to take with him when he left. The question remained: why would Skulker care about someone so obviously human like Kwan?

" _I wish I could tell you more, but I'm not a mind reader_." Poindexter closed his laptop with his mouth pulled down in a deep frown. " _I don't know what goes on in Skulker's mind, and I really don't want to know_." He gathered up his books and papers as the final bell of the day rang, echoing through the school.

" _Thanks for the information_." Wulf climbed to his feet and headed for the exit of the library. He hoped for better information, something to explain why Skulker was harassing Kwan. If anyone could get the information for him, he thought it would be Poindexter, who excelled in gathering data on basically everyone in the school. Few people knew that Poindexter possessed detailed files on each and every one of them. He probably had enough information to blackmail more than a dozen of the students, but he kept his knowledge secret from the rest of the school. A smirk slipped across his face when Wulf imagined Poindexter starting up some super secret spy organization. It seemed like a totally plausible idea after seeing what the man could accomplish with information gathering.

Wulf wandered the hallways back to his locker to grab his book bag where he left it after making the decision to seek out Poindexter. Everything he learned from Poindexter turned in his head as he walked, but he still couldn't make much sense of it. Skulker chasing after Kwan sounded out of character based on what Poindexter said, and Wulf was fairly certain he didn't want to know how Poindexter came by all that information on Skulker. Popping open his locker, Wulf yanked out his bag and slung it over his shoulder. When he turned to leave, a scent caught his nose, one that was familiar and tinged with fear. Creeping down the hallway, he halted before the corner, keeping out of sight of those just beyond it. He didn't have to strain hard to overhear this conversation.

"Something's different," Skulker said with suspicion thick in his voice.

"Don't touch me," Kwan growled lowly as the sound of a hand slapping away another followed.

"You might want to be a little more careful there." Skulker sounded amused by something that Wulf could only guess at. Perhaps the alien thought it was funny to see Kwan trying to fight back against him.

A growl emanated from inside him, the urge to rush around the corner and tear out Skulker's throat rising in him. Wulf's mouth thinned as his hands curled into tight fists to the point of his knuckles aching. Claws piercing his palms helped him draw back some of his rage toward the alien. If he acted on the urge to attack, it would only give the council reason to send a team out to deal with him, which usually meant eliminating the threat. Why the council sat back and allowed Skulker to harass a human, Wulf couldn't understand. The council _should_ be concerned about Skulker's actions, but they seemed content to ignore what was happening in the small town of Amity Park.

"Don't you ever get tired of being a creepy dickhead?" asked another man before Wulf could calm his rage enough to act without attacking. Cockiness filled the man's voice, and Wulf didn't need to see him to know the man was smirking.

"This is between me and my teammate. Butt out, Baxter." Skulker growled, clearly not happy to have his moment with Kwan interrupted.

But with his attention now on Baxter as the two men snapped at each other, Skulker was oblivious to the fact that his prey was sneaking away to make an escape. As quietly as he moved, Kwan's quick heartbeat gave him away to Wulf. It grew louder as the jock neared him, and in a moment, he appeared around the corner, almost running straight into Wulf. Kwan jerked back a step when he found someone standing in his path, his heart stopping for half a beat as his aqua green eyes widened at Wulf. His gaze darted about the hallway as he gulped.

"Um, Wulf, hi," Kwan mumbled, and Wulf didn't need his werewolf senses to know how awkward the man felt at that moment. "Thanks for earlier." His eyes focused on the floor, refusing to glance up at the man in front of him. "I, uh, I should probably be going now." When Kwan stepped around him and started down the hallway, Wulf walked alongside him, wanting to put distance between them and Skulker before he tried to speak to the jock. "It's, uh," Kwan moved away from him, "not necessary to walk with me."

Halfway down the hall, Wulf grabbed hold of Kwan's arm, forcing the jock to stop. "I don't know you, not even a little really, but even I can see that you need help."

"It's nothing," Kwan mumbled, casting his gaze to the side, still unable to even look at Wulf. "I appreciate that you took me in last night instead of just leaving me out in the park. But this, you really don't need to worry about it. It's fine."

"It's not fine." Wulf took hold of both arms and gave Kwan a small shake that finally got the jock to look at him with surprised eyes. "Do you honestly believe that there's no one in this world that wants to help you?" From the miserable look that filled his eyes, Wulf knew the answer was that he did. "Then you're lying to yourself. People will help if you just ask. You don't have to burden yourself to deal with everything alone."

Kwan lowered his gaze, something new entering his scent that drove away the fear and panic. "I don't want to drag people into my problems," he mumbled in a quiet tone then shook his head. "It's not really anyone's concern. I can handle it by myself."

"Liar," Wulf bit out with a growl in his voice. He winced inwardly when he noticed Kwan shy away from him, though he couldn't escape while Wulf kept hold of his arms. "You let Skulker walk all over you, and you never fight back against him."

"Hey!"

The shout made Kwan jump while Wulf merely shot a glare at the man storming toward them. Blinking, some of the heat faded from his green eyes when Wulf recognized Danny. The shorter man forced his way between them, blue eyes narrowing with fury at Wulf. He held his ground between the two men, like somehow his small, slender frame could act as a shield for the jock.

"He already gets enough harassment from Skulker," Danny growled, his teeth clenching. "He doesn't need you adding to it." Disbelief joined the anger in his eyes.

"I wasn't." Wulf blinked a few times, taken aback by Danny's assumption of what was transpiring between him and the jock. If he thought about it, he guessed he could see why Danny would leap to that conclusion. When Danny found them, Wulf was looming over the jock with an dark expression while Kwan cringed away in clear fear.

"Then what _were_ you doing?"

"Will the two of you just stop?" Kwan pushed the two men apart. "He's not the bad guy," he told Danny firmly. His gaze flicked toward Wulf briefly then he sighed, shoulders slumping. "He was actually trying to help me."

Danny's eyes darted between the two of them, his brow drawing together. "Okay. Explain it to me." He scratched at the side of his head. "Because it looked like Wulf was bullying you."

"He was trying to convince me to ask for help dealing with Skulker," Kwan mumbled unhappily, folding his arms like he thought it could protect him. "But like I was saying, it's not necessary." He snapped his aqua green eyes to Wulf. "People don't need to get involved in something that doesn't concern them."

"It does when people actually care about you, Kwan," Wulf growled with the desire to shake some sense into the man. "Do you think it's not going to hurt those people if Skulker gets what he wants?"

"Kwan," Danny cut in before the jock could do much more than open his mouth to argue. "Wulf's right. I care, and if I can do anything to help, I will. You don't have to deal with Skulker alone."

Kwan glanced between the two men then raked a hand through his dark locks. "You two aren't going to give this up, are you?"

"Nope," Danny answered while Wulf shook his head.

"Persistent bastards," Kwan grumbled as he heaved a sigh, but Wulf caught something akin to happiness in those aqua green eyes. Despite his constant claim that he didn't need help, Kwan liked that there were people that cared enough to offer help to him.


	13. Chapter 13

Danny sighed tiredly as he entered the house. The day at school felt long after everything that happened: Dash announcing he was a telepath and knew about Danny's parents being hunters, Lancer approaching him about confiding in him, and then the whole encounter with Wulf and Kwan. Somehow, he managed to convince both Wulf and Kwan to join them at lunch in the theater, and now he hoped Dash and Paulina wouldn't be upset about it. Feeling rather drained, Danny wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep until the week was over, but unfortunately, he had a bunch of homework to finish. His foot landed on the bottom step right as he heard his mother clearing her throat. With a sigh, Danny turned into the front room where his parents were sitting.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Danny complained as he stopped in front of his parents. He frowned when he noticed they didn't look angry with him, which only made wonder even more what this whole little family meeting was about. His parents tended to ignore his presence most of the time unless they received a phone call from the school, or occasionally the hospital, and one time when the police brought him home. So far, beyond getting his books shredded, Danny couldn't think of anything that he did to warrant a phone call home from the school.

"We'll be leaving at five thirty sharp," Maddie announced with a much too pleasant smile upon her face. "I expect you to be showered and dressed in something nice before we leave."

"Er, and where are we going?" Danny's frown deepened as he glanced between his parents. He really hoped this wasn't their attempt to drag him on a hunt with them, which they generally never did. They never even asked Jazz to go on a hunt with them, but Jazz would have refused if they tried. Hunts didn't usually require being showered and dressed nicely either. His brow knitted as he tried to figure out what exactly his parents were planning.

"Your mother," Jack grumbled, clearly whatever was happening tonight wasn't his idea and he wasn't happy with it either, "is making us have dinner with the family down the street." He folded his arms with a grumpy frown on his face. When he did that, he looked like an overgrown child. "And I was planning to check out that cemetery near where we found the tracker."

"Now, Jack," Maddie said in her stern, disapproving tone that usually reserved for whenever Danny didn't want to follow their rules. "We're going to be living here for quite some time." Danny almost smiled at that news. If "quite some time" meant that he could finish out senior year here, then he had no complaints. "We might as well get to know the neighbors. I ran into Mrs. Draken at the market today, and she seems like a lovely woman. She invited us to join her family for dinner tonight. And I expect both of you," Maddie glared at both husband and son, "to be on your best behavior."

"Then you two should probably not mention the whole supernatural hunter thing," Danny grumbled miserably. He nearly rolled his eyes when both his parents looked confused by his comment. Instead he sighed, shoulders sagging at how dense his parents could be sometimes. "If you want the families here to like you, maybe it would be better not to sound crazy. There are lots of people that don't believe in the whole supernatural thing."

After they exchanged looks with one another, Jack muttered, "This better not be a repeat with those Manson people."

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions," Maddie said, her voice straining to stay even. The mention of Sam's parents made both of them want to launch into an argument about how people were so blind that they couldn't see the supernatural even when it was right in front of them. That point nearly made Danny laugh because his parents were as blind as any of the skeptics.

"Was that all? I do have homework I need to get done." After his parents dismissed him with a reminder of when they would be leaving, Danny hurried upstairs to his bedroom. Collapsing into the chair at his desk, he pulled out his books to get started on his homework. He picked up his pencil to write out the problems for trigonometry when he heard the familiar jingle of his phone receiving a text. Pulling out his cell phone, he checked his messages and grinned when he read it the latest text from Tucker.

_Great news! Parents agreed. Coming at end of week. - T.F_.

Danny bit his lip as he replied with a simple "great" and "can't wait to see you." After that was taken care of, he set his phone off to the side of his desk. Staring at all his books, he sighed in exhaustion as he realized it would take him all night to get through everything. He was certain that all teachers plotted together to give their students an extraordinary amount of homework every night, all part of some conspiracy to make their students suffer and have no fun. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he got down to work. If he didn't get started now, he would never get it finished, especially with the silly dinner taking up part of his night.

Even though his mother told him to shower up for the dinner, Danny decided to ignore that order. His mother could yell at him all she wanted later, but he wanted to use all his time for his homework. He didn't really care much about the dinner any way. After all, he didn't even know who this Mrs. Draken was. Why should he care if he made a good impression to her or not? Part of him actually hoped that his parents would be their usual crazy selves so that maybe the Draken family would kick them out of their house early. He could hope, but he had the feeling that this would be the one time that his parents actually managed to behave like normal people rather than crazy hunters.

When five thirty rolled around, Danny merely changed into one of his dressier shirts because at least then his mother couldn't complain too much about him looking unsuitable for a nice dinner. He left his bedroom at a leisurely pace, not caring if he delayed them. Maybe if he took too long, his parents would leave without him, and he would have the whole house to himself, for a while. The idea of maybe getting to order pizza for dinner made him smile. Sometimes, he really questioned his parents' cooking when it looked like whatever they fixed was still alive He swore one time that he actually saw his dinner blink at him!

"Daniel, what happened to showering and dressing nicely?" Maddie demanded when Danny reached the bottom of the steps. Her arms were folded as she tapped an impatient food and frowned severely at him. She wore a lovely purple blouse and black slacks. Jack, meanwhile, tugged uncomfortably at his tie, scowling at the suit that he was forced to wear. The suit was pretty much the only nice clothing his father owned while everything else in his wardrobe was specifically for hunting and researching and inventing. Whenever he left the house in his bright orange jumpsuit, he tended to draw strange looks from everyone around them.

Danny shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I thought getting my homework finished would be more important. But," he sighed with exasperation, "if I must, I can always go do that right now." He turned to head back upstairs.

"No, you'll just make us late." Frowning, Maddie checked the watch around her wrist. "As it is, we'll already be a few minutes late." She snapped annoyed violet eyes at her husband. "Stop messing with the tie, Jack! It's perfectly fine."

"It's too tight," Jack grumbled as Maddie readjusted the tie after all of her husband's tugging at it.

Once that was taken care of, Maddie ushered both men out of the house. "When we get there, I expect smiles on your faces." Her narrowed eyes darted between Jack and Danny. "Both of you."

Jack muttered something about wanting to be back in the laboratory working on some new weapon. Danny merely sighed, knowing there was no way of getting out of the dinner now. The Draken house was a quick walk from their house, and in minutes, nearly seconds, the family of three stood outside a house with the front door painted bright red. Maddie glared at the two men until they forced smiles onto their faces. Then she rang the doorbell, and they waited patiently for the family to answer the door.

"Maddie, darling!" greeted a woman with long blonde hair the moment she opened the door. The dress she wore was pale blue and hugged about her, emphasizing the curves of her body. "I'm so happy your family could make it. Please, come in!" She stepped aside, allowing the three Fentons to enter her home. "I'm Darla Draken. And you must be Jack." She held a hand toward Danny's father, who shook it with a small bob of his head. "And Daniel." She smiled, her blue eyes glancing over Danny as she shook his hand. "Dinner is just about ready. Why don't you three go into the dining room and meet the rest of the family? I have to go make sure nothing burns." She giggled cheerfully, directing them toward the dining room before she disappeared into the kitchen.

Danny already liked this dinner even less than the time his family ate at Sam's house. The Draken house had that same pristine, wealthy feel to it that Sam's house did, except he didn't have Sam here this time to make silent jokes with under their parents' noses. Aaron Draken greeted them all with a firm hand shake. His dark hair was nicely combed back, and his mustache looked like a furry caterpillar upon his upper lip. He wore an argyle gray sweater over a dress shirt, his whole appearance giving him that feel of a business man.

"It's great to meet you all," Aaron said with a friendly smile. "I hope you're enjoying the neighborhood so far. Oh, and these are our children." He swept an arm back toward the dining table, gesturing to the two teenagers who stood by it. "This is our son Aragon," he placed his hand on the shoulder of the young man.

Aragon's long raven hair looked greasy like he didn't bother to wash it for a few weeks. His nose hooked slightly, and he sneered at the family presented before him, his beady blue eyes glowering darkly at them. He dressed up in nice clothes like the rest of his family, wearing nice slacks and a dress shirt with a well fitted vest over it. He clearly wasn't any happier about this dinner thing than Danny was.

"And our daughter Dorathea," Aaron continued, gesturing past Aragon toward Dorathea standing next to her brother.

Dorathea gave a polite curtsy, lifting the skirt of her blue dress patterned with white flowers. Her blonde hair, no longer bound in a braid, fell down about her pale shoulders in curly waves. Around her neck, she wore a golden necklace with an emerald pendant that Danny couldn't remember seeing previously when they met.

"It's nice to see you again, Dora," Danny said politely, trying to ignore the soft blush that rose to Dora's cheeks when he spoke to her.

"Oh, have you two met already?" Maddie asked, squeezing Danny's shoulders as she smiled down at him.

"Yeah, we met at school." From the expression on his mother's face, Danny feared this was meant to be more than a simple greet the neighbors dinner. Ever since he came out as gay to his parents, his mother felt the need to try to force him onto blind dates with any women she approved of, which needless to say didn't include Sam, who would never agree to that date anyway. He resisted the urge to groan, realizing that his mother and Mrs. Draken probably discussed their children when they met. After hearing about Dora, Maddie probably decided the young woman was perfect to set Danny up with, using this whole dinner as an excuse to put them together. Danny didn't really know all that much about Dora. She seemed like a nice girl, if a little odd and maybe a touch creepy, but Danny was gay and nothing his mother did was going to change that fact.

"He needed some help with a poetry assignment," Dora explained, her blue eyes seeming to pierce into Danny's very soul as she smiled at him. "I hope you did well on it. If you ever need some more help, you can ask me any time."

"That sounds wonderful! Maybe the two of you can study sometime together," Maddie offered happily, and Danny struggled to keep the polite smile on his face when all he wanted to do was run out the door. Why his mother simply couldn't accept him for what he was, Danny would never understand, but he dreaded the moment his parents found out the secret he was keeping from them.

"Dinner is ready," Darla announced, returning to the dining room with a large platter with a roasted turkey. She set in the center of the table. "Dear, why don't you start serving everyone? I'll bring out the side dishes." She disappeared into the kitchen again. The Draken family didn't hold back on a big dinner apparently.

Aaron started carving up the turkey, serving some of the deliciously roasted meat onto everyone's plate. Aragon grumbled when he didn't get a leg like he wanted. His father shot him a quick, dark glare to silence him that Maddie and Jack missed, but Danny wasn't as oblivious as his parents. He was fairly certain he saw the man's eyes flash red with black slits, and he gulped nervously, hoping his parents would manage to get through the night without speaking about hunting. After his talk with Dash that afternoon, he should have suspected that the Draken family would be something other than human, but he hoped for a normal night.

After he received his serving of turkey, Danny turned to sit beside his parents when he noticed his mother forcing Aragon to sit beside her, saying something about wanting to get to know more about him. Other than the seats at the heads of the long table, which he assumed were reserved for Mr. and Mrs. Draken, the only available seat was next to Dora on the opposite side of the table from his parents. His hands tightened around the plate, his teeth clenching, seeing that his mother was still trying to set him up with Dora. Without much choice, Danny sat down in the chair next to Dora as Mrs. Draken returned yet again to place several side dishes on the table. There was a medley of vegetables, a salad, stuffing, yams and mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, making everything look like a grand Thanksgiving feast. It all seemed a little overboard for a simple dinner in Danny's opinion, but he kept that to himself.

"Are you enjoying are quiet little town?" Mrs. Draken smiled as she offered the bowl of salad to Jack, who took a tiny sampling of it after receiving a glare from Maddie, who was trying to get him to eat some healthier food.

"It's quiet the charming little town," Maddie answered, replacing her glare with her friendly smile.

"You don't seem all that happy to be here," Dora whispered softly to Danny as she sliced her meat into smaller pieces. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at him, she lifted one eyebrow in question.

"I wasn't exactly expecting to be dragged out to dinner tonight. Uh, no offense," Danny tacked on, not wanting to offend his classmate.

"Mother was very excited about this whole thing." Dora's gaze flicked toward her mother, who was happily chatting away with Maddie. Both mothers tried to drag their husbands into the conversation while Aragon sulked in his seat, eating his dinner with little enthusiasm. "Apparently, she very much liked the idea of finding a boy for me to date." She rolled her eyes, a small frown appearing briefly on her face.

Danny held back his groan of frustration. "You're a really nice girl and all, but-"

"I'm already dating someone," Dora cut in, offering a tiny smirk. "He's away at college, and my mother doesn't exactly approve of him." She leaned in even closer and lowered her voice so that only Danny could hear. "He's descended from knights, and being," she absently fingered the jewel about her neck, "what I am, our families haven't exactly gotten along in the last few millennia." She shrugged, smiling and blushing. "But he's always so sweet to me. I couldn't help falling in love with him."

"And what exactly are you?" Danny thought he might have a guess based on what he already saw and heard.

Dora grinned at him, sharp teeth peeking through the slight part in her lips. "Dragon kin," she whispered, almost like a hiss into his ear. "And I trust you know how to keep a secret."

Danny nodded rapidly, but his blue eyes grew wide as he stared at her. "I've never ran into a dragon kin before. I heard that almost all of them were slain ages ago."

Dora picked up a glass of water and sipped daintily from it as sadness passed through her eyes. "It's true that the knights and hunters slew many of my kind, but thanks to these amulets," she placed a hand over the emerald pendant, "we can maintain a human form and live among humans peacefully. We might have a," she smirked with a wicked gleam in her eyes, "beastly appetite, but we don't seek to feed upon humans."

"You have officially made this dinner so much better than I thought it would be." Danny laughed, still amazed that he was sitting with a family of dragon kin long since thought extinct.

"I'd be happy to tell you more. Later. When your parents aren't around." Dora's blue eyes darted toward Jack and Maddie, and a hint of fear and panic flickered in her eyes.

"You know about my parents?" Danny almost gawked at her but managed to school his expression.

"Yes, though the rest of my family remain unaware." Dora turned back to smile at him.

"How did you know you could trust me with what you are?"

"Your eyes," Dora answered before biting a piece of turkey off her fork, still smiling brightly. When Danny only stared in confusion at her, she laughed lightly. "Your eyes are very honest and pure. You've seen and experienced horrible things, I don't doubt that, but you haven't let that changed you. Your eyes tell of your fascination with the supernatural, but you lack that cruelty that hunters have. You want to learn about us, but you don't want hurt us. Unless of course, we attack you."

"You got all that from my eyes?" Danny laughed breathlessly.

"The eyes can express quite a lot about a person, if one knows how to look at them."

Danny nodded, realizing what the whole scene in the theater at lunch was about now. When she leaned in so closely to him, gazing into his eyes, Dora was reading all of what she said. It impressed Danny that she could get all that after staring into his eyes once and wondered if that was something all dragon kin could do.

"I was thinking that this dating thing might be beneficial to both of us."

Danny nearly choked on his mouthful of turkey and potatoes at Dora's calm, nonchalant statement. After managing to swallow his food, he coughed a few times to clear his airway so that he could speak again. "What do you mean?" His blue eyes grew wide as saucers as he gaped at her.

"Well," Dora glanced briefly around the table, "it seems to me that our mothers are already under the impression that we're 'hitting it off.' It might work to our advantage to humor them. If they think we are dating, they might lay off matching us up with other partners. We wouldn't have to really do much. Just seem like we're dating, maybe we're just taking things slow and getting to know each other. Our mothers will be happy, and we'll still be free to date who we really want. Like a certain blond man." She smirked secretively as Danny blushed darkly, realizing probably everyone in school was aware of his crush on Dash.

Danny pushed around what was left of his dinner around the plate as he thought about what Dora said. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad of an idea." He poked a prong of his fork through a stray pea. "At least my mom might stop bugging me about being gay."

"Then it's agreed. We are officially a couple that secretly isn't a couple." Dora grinned happily, and Danny returned it with a smile. The rest of the night passed surprisingly well and without event. Danny couldn't believe his parents managed to keep quiet about the supernatural, but he was thankful that they didn't cause a scene. He really didn't want to see his parents get burned to a crisp by a family of dragon kin. He didn't like the idea of getting turned to charcoal as well, but he also thought that Dora might stand up for him and try to convince her parents to spare him if a fight did occur between their families.

When dinner was finished, the Draken family walked them to the door, thanking them for coming over and the wonderful evening. Before Danny and his family could leave, Dora stepped forward and placed a quick, shy kiss upon his cheek, gaining embarrassing aw's from their mothers. The shock of it helped Danny not to completely freak out about the kiss. When she jerked away, Dora raised a hand to her lips, curiosity filling her blue eyes. Biting down hard on the inside of his cheek, Danny tried not to panic because up until now the only ones that touched his skin since the incident were Sam and Tucker. He made certain since then to keep people from touch his skin. Dora gave a subtle shake of her head that most of their families missed, but Danny took it as a sign that she would remain silent about his secret, which was some relief to him. When all goodbyes were made, Danny walked three steps behind his parents as they headed home.


	14. Chapter 14

When the bell rang, Danny crammed his chemistry book and notes, sighing in memory of last night. He barely managed to escape his mother after they returned home from the Draken house. His mother gushed over the idea of Danny getting a girlfriend while his father grumbled in disapproval, making Danny believe that his father probably didn't buy that little act and probably didn't like Danny pretending to be something he wasn't. But Jack kept silent about that suspicion, knowing Maddie would never let it go if he told her that Danny and Dora were faking a relationship. Danny was happy that at least his father wasn't trying to force him to be not gay.

Danny stood to leave the classroom when he noticed the leisurely pace of the chemistry partner packing up his things. "Hey, Abner, do you have first lunch?"

Head jerking up, Abner blinked his pale hazel eyes at Danny. "Oh, uh, yeah." His brow furrowed as he tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Come to the theater at lunch," Danny suggested as he grinned, once again wondering if Dash and Paulina would be upset to have their numbers increase. "You can eat with me and my friends."

"Oh, I don't know." Abner frowned with uncertainty in his eyes.

"We've got real food, not that sludge they serve in the cafeteria," Danny tempted because he couldn't anyone actually enjoying what they served in the cafeteria.

"Hey, you're in the way."

Danny jumped at the new voice and darted out of the other student's way. As the man wearing a biker's jacket passed, Danny thought he vaguely recognized the shoulder length blond hair. But he shook the flitting memory from his mind then focused his attention back on Abner. He didn't have much time to make it to history without being late, leaving him little chance to give a lengthy argument to convince Abner to join them at lunch.

"Remember. Lunch. Theater. See ya then." Danny waved before he hurried off for his next class.

He pushed his way through the throng of students all hurrying to make their way to their classes. A woman with long hair dyed a strange shade of blue and weird black markings around her eyes bumped shoulders with him and muttered "watch it, dipstick" as she glared at him. Danny tried to apologize, but the crowd quickly swept him along down the hallway away from the woman. Almost making it to the classroom, Danny slammed into another woman in his rush. They both fell to the ground, some of the woman's books spilling to the ground.

"So sorry!" Danny grabbed at the books to help the woman with dark skin.

"Not accepted," the woman snapped as she snatched the books out of his hand, her green eyes narrowing angrily. She stood up, smoothing out her yellow tank top with her free hand. "Why do the losers never have any manners?"

"I said I was sorry. It was an accident," Danny argued, growing frustrated with the woman's attitude. He agreed he should have watched where he was going a little more carefully, but he was in a hurry and didn't see her until it was too late. She didn't have to act so rudely to him when he apologized for bumping into her. But before either of them could continue speaking, the late bell rang. "Shoot!" Danny dodged around the woman, not having the time to finish this argument with her, and rushed into his history class.

"Late again, Fenton," Cogsworth noted without looking at Danny, who quickly took his seat next to Wulf.

"Sorry, Sir," Danny mumbled, hunching over his desk and trying to focus on class. He noticed Wulf kept sneaking peeks toward Kwan and Skulker throughout the class, and he realized he too was checking on what transpired between the jocks. Nothing much happened during class, and Danny guessed that maybe Skulker wouldn't act while under the watch of a teacher, and perhaps the rest of the class. Skulker's best opportunity to actually do something to Kwan would be between classes, maybe lunch if they shared it. Danny chewed on his thumbnail as class neared the end, wishing Kwan told them more about what Skulker wanted from him. Yesterday after school, Kwan refused to tell them anything, if he even knew what Skulker planned, which Danny suspected the Asian man _did_ have some clue. Kwan agreed to accept their help, but apparently that didn't mean he was going to them the truth about the situation.

Deep in thought, Danny jumped when the bell rang. He sighed out heavily, trying to calm his racing heart. As he packed up his things, an idea popped into his head. While the rest of the students left, Skulker throwing an arm over Kwan's tense shoulders to keep close to his teammate much to Wulf's growling disapproval, Danny lingered behind and waited until everyone else left.

"You want to discuss something," Cogsworth said once they were alone. He didn't look up from making notes as he sat at his desk.

Danny swallowed nervously, walking up to the front of the room. "I was wondering," he started hesitantly, wiping his hands on his jeans, "would it be possible to change seats?"

"With Mr. Long, I suppose?" Cogsworth lifted his head.

For a moment Danny thought they looked different, flashing red for the briefest instance, but decided it must be a trick of the lights. His teacher's question surprised him, and Danny blinked wide blue eyes. "Uh, yeah," he answered, brow knitting as he wondered how his teacher knew what he planned.

A thoughtful but distant look passed over the man's face, making him seem aged beyond his years. "I suppose that would be acceptable. Tomorrow, take his seat."

Danny stared, still in shock that Cogsworth agreed so easily. "Thank you, Sir!" He bobbed his head in a small bow as he backed toward the door.

"Fenton," Cogsworth called before Danny could make it out the door. "I suggest you be cautious around Skulker."

Danny felt a chill run down his spine as the teacher stared at him with that piercing gaze he had. "Do you," his brow creased, "know something, Sir?"

"Just a warning." Cogsworth turned back to his papers, giving no more attention to his student.

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but lacking any idea of what to say, he snapped it shut again. He stared at his teacher, pondering over the warning before he remembered he needed to get to his next class before he was late. Hurrying out of the classroom, he hoped Kwan wouldn't be too angry with him for asking to have them switch seats, but he thought things would be better this way. Skulker wouldn't be able to leer over him all during class now.

His last two classes before lunch felt like an eternity passed before they finally finished. His leg shook impatiently, and his eyes darted far too often to the clocks hanging on the walls of both classes. He wanted to get to the bottom of what Abner hid beneath his bandages, though he wasn't sure yet how could do that discreetly with everyone else around during lunch. He also hoped that maybe they could pry a little more information out of Kwan about Skulker.

As soon as the bell rang after fourth period, Danny shot out of his desk, scooping up his books as he headed out the door. After a quick trip to his locker, he made his way toward the theater. His stomach was already growling in hunger, and he hoped Dash brought a lot of food today. When he arrived at the theater, he found Paulina and Dash already present with a spread of food laid out before them. Grinning widely, Danny plopped down between his two friends and grabbed one of the sandwiches in the pile.

"I hope you guys don't mind that I invited a few people to join us." Danny winced when they stared at him like he grew a second head.

"Who did you invite?" Dash leaned toward him, dark blue eyes narrowing as they pierced into Danny's eyes.

"Uh, just Wulf, Kwan, and Abner." Danny laughed weakly as he shied away from Dash, almost worried the other man would be upset with him.

"Kwan!" Paulina jumped to her feet, drawing Danny and Dash's attention around as Paulina rushed over to hug the jock that appeared silently behind them.

"Hey, Paulina," Kwan greeted quietly, hugging her with one arm. When she released her hold on him, Kwan gave a nod to Danny, who smiled at him. Then he glanced nervously at Dash.

"I guess it's a good thing I bring a big lunch," Dash said, pretending to sound put out by the fact that they had to entertain more people during their lunch. "And dude, seriously, how do you do that silent creeper thing? You're always disappearing without a sound whenever I try to stop Skulker from harassing you."

"That's my secret." A sly smirk slipped onto Kwan's face as he walked around the group to take a seat next to Paulina. He sat awkwardly with his gaze lowered.

"Ah! Put me down!" The shout caused the four of them to look toward the pair walking out onto the stage. Wulf carried a much smaller man over one shoulder. He didn't release the other man until he reached the group then set the man down upon his feet. Abner stumbled a step or two before he managed to steady himself again.

"You were loitering outside the door," Wulf grumbled lowly as he took a seat next to Kwan. "I made your decision for you." He didn't sound at all sorry about dragging the hazel eyed man into the theater.

"You didn't have to carry me." Abner sighed, filling up the space between Wulf and Dash. His eyes swept around the gathering, and his brows lifted. "Quite the group we have here." It was a splattering of popular and unpopular, but Danny couldn't find any sign of hate or resentment toward anyone else present.

"I'm glad you all decided to come," Danny said happily as part of him did worry that the other three would decide to ignore his invitation to join them. His blue eyes darted between Abner and Kwan, wondering which one to start prying information from, or at least trying to. Abner eagerly grabbed at one of the turkey sandwiches while Wulf and Kwan were a little more hesitant about digging into the food before them. Before Danny could think of how to break the silence, someone else appeared, and he almost forgot that she was even here during lunch.

"Here's your script," Dora announced with a pleasant smile as she handed one stack of papers to Paulina.

With a gleeful gleam in her emerald eyes, Paulina took the script, but after one quick glance at the title page, her expression fell. "The wicked witch?" She sighed heavily as she hung head, her shoulders sagging in depression.

"But you'll be the most beautiful wicked witch there ever was," Kwan said, which gained him a tight hug around the neck from Paulina.

"And for you, sweetie," Dora said with a playful wink as she held out the second script to Danny.

"Wait. What?" Danny blinked in surprised at the papers being proffered to him. He tried to put the pieces together, but he couldn't understand why Dora would be giving him a script as well.

"Sweetie?" Dash demanded, his voice straining with anger. Cringing as he twisted around, Danny shrank back from the fury in Dash's eyes that made them look shades darker.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Dash." The smile remained on Dora's face despite the glare being turned on her. "We're just pretending for the sake of our mothers. We're not in any way romantically interested in each other, especially since Danny's gay and I already have a boyfriend. We're just trying to get our mothers to stop pestering us."

"You agreed to this?" Dash raised an eyebrow at Danny, who couldn't tell how angry Dash was at this news.

"We really won't be doing anything other than telling our mothers that we're dating or, you know, getting to know each other in potential relationship building way." Danny scratched at the back of his head, frowning. "My mother's been pestering me about dating a girl ever since I came out. It would be nice to have her finally shut up for a while and leave me alone about it." An impish grin spread on his face as he leaned toward Dash. "You still fill all my thoughts."

"So you two are together?" Abner questioned, pointing between Dash and Danny.

"No," the two men answered together.

"I'm not ready for that yet." Danny shook his head, ignoring the look the man beside him was giving him. Deciding a change in subjected was needed, he then turned back to Dora, who still held the script for him to take. "Why am I getting a script? I never even tried out for the play."

"I know. I thought you would be good for the role of the prince." Dora glanced over her shoulder at Paulina. "The boys that tried out were abysmal." Paulina winced like she might know exactly what Dora meant.

"Uh, okay," Danny mumbled awkwardly as he took the script. He frowned down at the big bold font reading Daniel Fenton as Prince Charming on the title page. Acting was never something he ever considered, and the thought of getting up on stage before an entire audience already scared him. He was fairly certain this could only turn out badly. By the time Danny realized the conversation continued, Dora already disappeared to somewhere else in the theater.

"Of course, Desiree gets the lead character," Paulina complained, pouting as she read over the full cast listing. "Every play! Just once I'd like to be the lead."

"You know how it goes by now, Paulina," Dash said as he leaned back on his hands. "The queen bitch gets whatever she wants, even if she doesn't deserve it."

"Desiree isn't a bitch," Paulina argued, glaring at Dash with such ferocity that it actually surprised everyone in the group.

"Since when do you actually defend her?" Dash frowned, brow drawing together as his dark blue eyes tried to figure out when this sudden change occurred.

"Since," Paulina started heatedly, but after a quick glance around at everyone present, she sighed. "Since my party. Dash-" She hesitated again, glancing at Kwan and Abner as she frowned. "Maybe we should discuss this thing with Desiree later."

"I already know all about her," Kwan put in with his attention a little too focused on the sandwich he was eating. "And everyone else present here." His aqua green eyes flicked toward Danny. "Well, almost everyone." The smirk that crossed his face sent a shiver through Danny, who swallowed his food nervously.

"So that leaves Abner," Dash said, turning to the hazel eyed man beside him.

Abner gulped under everyone's gaze and shrank into himself, looking even smaller. "Oh, all right," he said in exasperation. "I might as well get this over with since a certain somebody," he glared at Danny, "won't leave alone the idea that I'm cutting myself." Pulling up the sleeves of his shirt, Abner removed the bandages from his arms then held them out for the group to see. The flesh along his forearms was scarred like he suffered repeated burnings. Paulina gasped at the sight, her hands over her mouth in surprise. "I can make things explode by touching them."

"Wait. So when our experiment exploded?" Danny questioned as the pieces started falling into place.

"Yeah," Abner replied, rubbing awkwardly at his neck. "I kind of made the beaker explode. Then you started trying to get me to talk about whether I was cutting or not, and I almost didn't get you out of the way before it went off." Chewing on his lip, he shifted uncomfortably while everyone's attention remained on him. "See. I can sort of time out when the explosion will take place after I touch it. But I don't have a whole lot of control over it, and sometimes," he looked away, one hand running over the scarred flesh of his other arm, "I get caught in the blast by accident. I know I could always just stop and act like I don't even have this ability, but I want to get control over it. I don't want to pretend I'm normal then accidentally make something explode and maybe end up hurting someone , or worse." He lowered his gaze with a sad look. No one noticed the pained expression that crossed Dash's face as he leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

"So you purposely made the experiment go wrong so that you could stay behind and spend time with Miss Johnson?" Danny grinned widely as Abner blinked and blushed at the question.

"Oh, you better not let Technus hear you're crushing on her," Paulina said teasingly. "Everyone knows he's always had a crush on her."

"What? No!" Abner waved his hands in front of him, blushing even darker. "I don't have a crush on Miss Johnson."

Danny's brow creased in confusion at this news. "But you're always staying behind in her class."

Abner bowed his head, his blush nearly reaching his ears by this point. "That's because Johnny is in the next period. It's the only time I really ever see him around school."

"Wasn't Johnny dating Kitty?" Dash asked, returning to the conversation.

"No, they broke up. Well," Paulina cringed lightly, "Kitty dumped Johnny." Danny could only sit in confusion at this point, not knowing who either Johnny or Kitty was.

Frowning as something turned in his head, Dash pinned his gaze on Danny. "Why did you think Abner was cutting?"

Danny tensed, forcing his eyes away from Dash as he kept his brain blank in an attempt to keep Dash from picking up any of his thoughts. "The -The bandages." When he swallowed, it felt like something was lodged in his throat. His gaze darted toward Abner, who blinked owlishly at him. Dread washed over Danny as he realized Abner might not know to shield his thoughts from Dash. Dark blue eyes flicked toward Abner as well, and a moment later, Dash grabbed for Danny's arm, who quickly jerked away from him.

"Let me see it," Dash ordered in a commanding voice while the others watched in stunned silence.

"It's not a big deal." Panic fluttered in Danny's chest as he tried to dodge every grab from Dash. They struggled with each other for a while, Wulf growling in the background. When Dash suddenly caught him around the waist and yanked him into his lap, Danny nearly screamed, but it got lost somewhere inside him under the crushing pressure of his panic. It squeezed around him, choking the air out of him until he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to reveal this part of him to Dash. His only reason for telling Abner was because he worried for the other man and thought if the Abner saw that Danny shared the experience of cutting, that it would make the blond man willing to open up about it.

"Dash, I think you should let him talk at his own pace," Kwan said in a strangely stern voice, casting a glance at the werewolf beside, who looked about two seconds away from launching across the stage to rip the two men away from each other.

"Well, Danny," Dash said in a strained voice. He held Danny's arm up with the sleeve tugged down enough to catch sight of the wrinkled white scars crisscrossing over the pale wrist. "Are you going to tell us why you cut yourself?"

Danny bowed his head, no longer attempting to fight Dash. By now, everyone saw his scars, and Danny couldn't see a way to escape the truth coming out. "I was in a really bad place," he mumbled, refusing to look at any of them. "I couldn't deal with something that happened to me. I woke up having nightmares, and the panic attacks were horrible. Cutting myself seemed like the only relief." His jaw clenched as he closed his eyes. "But as you can see, the scars are old, months old. I stopped cutting months ago after my friends realized what I was doing. I promised I would stop, and I did, so it's really not a big deal. I only showed Abner because I feared he was doing what I did and talking about it with someone might help him." When Dash's grip loosened, Danny yanked his arm free, hiding both of them well within the sleeves of his shirt.

"You need to take your own advice," Dash said, sighing so that his warm breath washed over the exposed flesh at the back of Danny's neck.

Shivering at the feel of it, Danny tried to crawl away, but Dash held him firmly in place with one arm around the waist. With a sigh, he resigned himself to his new seat in Dash lap. It was too much physical contact all at once though, and Danny needed a distraction before his panic kicked in again. If he could focus his mind on something other than his back against Dash's hard chest or the buff arm around his waist, he thought he would be okay.

"You were saying something about Desiree?" Danny glanced over at Paulina, who stared at him with sad eyes. He prayed that everyone would drop the topic of his cutting now that he told them something about it.

Paulina blinked as she tried to recall what they were talking about before all the reveals started. "Oh!" Her expression darkened as she frowned. "Okay, Kwan." She turned to the jock, taking his hand in her hands. "I know this paints her in a pretty bad light-"

"No, I get it." Kwan shook his head. "It's an impulse thing. She can't help it."

"Help what?" Danny tried to follow the conversation, but it felt like they were speaking in code.

"Oh, right. Danny wouldn't know." Paulina cleared her throat as her hand wrapped around the crystal pendant she wore. "Desiree is a genie, and she can sort of sense when people have a wish in mind. So when she sensed that from Skulker, she offered to grant his wish." She hesitated as her gaze flicked toward Kwan. "But it didn't work, and when it rebounded back at her, it made her completely obedient to Skulker. If he gives her a command, she can't disobey it." She frowned even more, lowering her emerald eyes. "He has her lamp, and I want to get it back for her."

Danny could only stare at Paulina after the explanation. He wasn't sure he even blinked while trying to process the information. "Wait. Desiree is a genie who has control of her lamp?" His mouth hung slightly open. There weren't that many genies in the world, and he never encountered one so far in all the places where he lived. It was like receiving the startling news that a family of dragon kin lived within Amity Park. But he never heard anything about genies being in control of their lamps. All the reference books that he read said that a genie acted under a master who possessed the lamp.

"When she arrived here, she was given control of it to allow her to live a normal life," Paulina explained.

"Wow! I never knew they could do that."

"So did Skulker command her to be a bitch?" Dash asked, not sounding all that interested in helping the genie.

"She's not a bitch!" Paulina snapped as she glared at him. "Maybe if you didn't antagonize her, she wouldn't be so rude to you. Men haven't exactly treated her well. And I'm going to get her lamp back whether you help me or not." She folded her arms, turning her head away.

"Oh, like she isn't-"

"Dash, it might be better to shut up," Danny offered weakly then cringed when Dash glared at him.

"Obedience," Wulf growled, speaking for the first time since he sat next to Kwan. The one word drew everyone's attention to him, and the whole conflict between Dash and Paulina was forgotten. Wulf's green eyes focused on Kwan, who tried without success to pretend the werewolf wasn't glowering at him. "Why would Skulker wish for obedience from you?"

The question reminded Danny of what Dash said the first time they met in the theater. He paled at the thought that Skulker wanted Kwan to submit to his will to make it easier to have sex with him.

"Why would I know what goes on in that alien freak's mind?" Kwan refused to look at Wulf as he dug his fingers into the rind of an orange, starting to peel it.

"You knew he was an alien?" Wulf grabbed his arm, jerking Kwan toward him.

Kwan opened his mouth then snapped it shut. Fear passed through his eyes, no doubt realizing that he let something slip that he shouldn't have. "So what? That doesn't mean anything. You knew he was an alien too." He tried to pry his arm free, but Wulf wouldn't release his tight hold.

"But why would an alien want Kwan?" Abner asked the question that was on almost everyone's mind. "I mean, if it's just about a human, you know like in the movies where aliens want to probe humans and all that, why does he care only about Kwan?"

But before anyone could offer answers, the lunch bell rang. Kwan managed to free his arm, and after snatching up his bag, he headed for the exit of the theater. Danny scrambled out of Dash lap and seized hold of the jock's sleeve before Kwan could leave.

"I talked with Cogsworth after class today," Danny said as Kwan frowned down at him. "He agreed to let us switch seats."

"Why would you do that?" Panic and relief fought each other in Kwan's eyes, and Danny thought he might understand the mixed reaction. Kwan was relieved to have a seat that wasn't right next to Skulker, but he probably also feared Skulker's reaction after seeing that his prey switched seats.

"Because I can't sit through class while Skulker's leering at you like a piece of meat," Danny grumbled, his stomach twisting in disgust at that thought.

"This is still so weird," Kwan mumbled as he raked a hand through his hair. "I never thought anyone would care."

"And we are happy to prove you wrong about that." Danny grinned up at him. "And seriously, if you ever need to talk-"

"You should consider taking your own advice." Kwan pulled Danny's hand away from his arm and held his hand wrapped around Danny's wrist, his thumb pressing over where the scars were. "Because if I need to realize I don't have to carry my burden alone, then you need to realize that you don't either." The look that flashed in his aqua green eyes made Danny snap his hand away with a nervous gulp.

"Don't forget your bag," Dash said, and Danny jumped when the blond man appeared at his side. Dash held out the book bag to Danny, who could still see the lingering concern in his eyes.

"It's really not a big deal, Dash." Danny took his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He glanced quickly to Kwan only to find that the jock fled quietly from the theater. "I never went so far as to try to commit suicide, and I haven't done it in months." He walked toward the exit with Dash following right at his side.

"But you still have the urge to do it." Dash frowned as he took hold of Danny's wrist like somehow he could drive away that feeling inside Danny and protect him with the simple touch.

"Yes," Danny admitted, bowing his head so his dark bangs hung down over his eyes. "But I don't act on it anymore. I made a promise that I'm not going to break."

Dash squeezed his hand lightly around Danny's wrist. "I'm just worried," he whispered. "You're carrying something around with you, but you won't tell me anything. Of course I'm going to freak out when I find out you used to cut yourself." He scratched his free hand through his blond locks. "I like you, and I don't want to lose you before we figure out if this is more than just simple attraction. And the thought that something might happen to push you over the edge and cut again really kills me."

"Dash," Danny forced the other man to stop as he looked up into Dash's eyes, "I promise you that I'm not going to cut myself again."

"I'm still going to worry."

"Yeah." Danny sighed. "I know."


	15. Chapter 15

Time was a tiring thing. Clockwork leaned against his desk as students filed into his classroom for yet another dull day of hearing facts and dates listed about all the events that happened in the past. Honestly, it wasn't a subject that Clockwork wished to teach, but with his knowledge of time, he was the best suited for the position. He rubbed absently at the scar that ran from his forehead, over his left eye, and onto his cheek. It was an old scar, strange in shape, that never quite healed. When he received it, that day he first learned about his ability. He couldn't always see the whole of time, and for the first six years of his life, he grew up as a normal boy. He even looked normal in appearance with a thick head of dark hair that his mother liked to keep combed back neatly, but he hated that and would often mess it up the moment he left the house.

Then that day came. He sat in the back of the car as they drove to his grandparents' house for Christmas. His mother was in a foul mood because it was snowing too hard and it was completely ridiculous to make the trip to her in-laws. His mother never really liked her in-laws, but his father promised his parents that they would visit on Christmas that year. "It's not right that they never get to see their grandson," his father said when his mother complained. At that age, Clockwork didn't know this set of grandparents and didn't really care, except that he would be getting presents because that was what all young children cared about on Christmas.

It happened suddenly, an intense flood of images in his head, the vivid vision of a young man with long white hair and gleaming red eyes. His head felt like it would explode from the intense pain, his brain seeming to press against his skull like it was trying to force its way out. His eyes clamped shut, tears threatening to spill down his cheek as he clapped his hands over his ears. Sights and sounds, even smells, flashed quickly through his mind, all of it too much for him to handle, and he wasn't even aware that he started screaming. The squeals of the wheels blended into the noise in his head, along with the shouts of his parents. The car skidded over a patch of ice, his father unable to regain control. When they slammed into a tree, silence finally drowned out of everything after Clockwork's head banged against the car door, glass raining down over him.

Not until he woke in a sterile white room did Clockwork come to learn about what happened. His grandfather, on his father's side, also possessed the ability that Clockwork had. That Christmas, while on the way to their house, his grandfather had a heart attack and died before he could receive medical attention. The moment of his death, the gift passed on to Clockwork, which was why he had the sudden explosion of visions, but being unprepared to see the whole of time, it was natural for Clockwork to think he was going crazy, according to the council man that explained everything to him while he lay in the hospital bed recovering. Clockwork was also told that his mother died in the car crash, a fact that he cried about for weeks, sobbing himself to sleep at night.

When his father visited later that first day after Clockwork woke, he explained that Clockwork's grandfather worked for the council to help maintain the balance of time and keep things flowing in the proper line. When he recovered, Clockwork would live at the council's headquarters as he learned to control his new ability, and once he was considered stable, Clockwork would be allowed to live a normal life. At least, as normal as any supernatural being could. Clockwork begged his father not to leave him, but it was against some rule at the council for his father to join him there. Apparently, they believed that his father's presence would only hinder his progress.

It wasn't until he was able to get out of the hospital bed after a week that he saw his scar for the first time, and his white hair. The appearance frightened him that first time, and he wanted his normal hair back. He wanted his normal life back. He even tried escaping from the hospital once while no one was watching his room. But the moment he left the safety of the room, he was assaulted again by the images of everything that had happened, will happen, and could happen. It was all too much for him, and he only made it a few steps before collapsing to the ground in the fetal position as he sobbed in agony. One fact managed to break through everything jumbling about inside his mind: he needed the council's help to control this gift in order to help people who would be in danger without his guidance.

Years, decades really, of hard training finally allowed him the chance at a semi normal life. When he was given the choice of where he wished to go after leaving the council, Clockwork knew exactly what destination to pick. Amity Park was a center of supernatural activity, which was why it was perfect for setting up a school like Casper High. He knew of Skulker's coming. He knew of the danger Kwan would be placed in. He knew Danny would arrive after something terrible happened to him. Everything was going according to the way he foresaw it, and he made certain that he prodded things to go in the right way to allow everyone to be spared terrible fates. Danny's arrival was the turning point that Skulker never suspected.

As he taught the class, Clockwork turned his attention on the pair taking up his thoughts currently. Skulker was, naturally, furious to discover Danny sitting beside him in class instead of his prey Kwan. Skulker sent a glare backward, causing a growl to rumble from Wulf as Kwan hunched over his new desk, trying to ignore the stare. The alien couldn't do much about the situation, which only angered him more. He scowled, snapping attention onto Danny, who pretended to the best of his ability not to notice. But Skulker was never good at being ignored.

Clockwork casually walked around the classroom as he lectured the class on another event that occurred in history. Much of the class was yawning in boredom, struggling to stay awake long enough to take notes. He neared their desks as Skulker muttered at Danny, thinking himself quiet enough to go unnoticed by their teacher.

"You think you solved everything by getting that stupid Cogsworth to switch desks?" Skulker demanded lowly, narrowing his green eyes at the raven haired man beside him.

Danny kept his head bent over his desk as he scribbled down notes about the lecture. His eyes flicked toward the alien with a cold look in his blue eyes. "Maybe not," he agreed in a heated whisper. "But at least you won't be leering over him throughout class now. I don't really understand why you're obsessed with him, but I'm not letting you win."

Skulker laughed under his breath, a smirk cutting across his face. "And you think you can stop me? A mere, pathetic human with no special skills?" He leaned over the aisle, one hand balancing on the back of Danny's chair as he loomed over the shorter man. "You don't even know what you're up against."

"You're an alien scumbag. That's all I need to know." Danny's eyes narrowed, and as he came nearer, Clockwork thought he saw a dangerous flicker in those eyes. The teacher frowned at the pair, not letting on to his thoughts or how his attention strayed as he continued with his rambling lecture.

"You think knowing that I'm alien is somehow going to scare me?" Skulker leaned closer, almost reaching his mouth to Danny's ear. "You haven't even a clue what kind of alien I am. What I'm capable of. You should really do your research on what your opponent is before you think have the upper hand because right now you're like a blind man slashing at the dark hoping to hit something, but you aren't even close. You can't protect him from me. You," he laughed, "can't even protect yourself."

"Radcliffe, please return to your seat and pay attention," Clockwork ordered, stopping at their desks as he glared down at the alien.

Skulker scowled at him as he pushed away from Danny's desk then leaned on one arm on his own desk. Clockwork continued walking down the aisle of desks, well aware that the conflict between the two students wasn't finished since Skulker was never one to let something go once he decided to stick his claws into it. Switching Danny and Kwan's seats may not be the wisest decisions as he viewed the many paths this one choice could take. Many of them led closer to both Kwan and Danny's lives being in danger, closer to Skulker leaving this planet with two new treasures for his collection. But there were still plenty of paths where Danny and Kwan would be safe as long as Clockwork ensured things went properly.

At the end of the aisle, Clockwork twisted around, his eyes automatically finding Skulker and Danny as the pair wrestled over a paper. With a few quick, long strides, he was back before their desks and grabbing hold of Skulker's wrist. He yanked the alien's hand away, ripping the paper but saving Danny from accidently having his hand brush against Skulker's hand. He snapped angry eyes onto Skulker as he seized both halves of the paper.

"If you wish to stay out of trouble, Radcliffe, I suggest you focus your attention on what I'm teaching rather than harassing the other students in class," Clockwork said sternly, pocketing the paper as he ignored Danny's protest about having his notes confiscated. "I'm sure you wouldn't want additional punishment."

Skulker snorted at the threat. "You can't do anything to me."

Clockwork stared indifferently at the malicious smirk on the alien's face. He didn't argue the case, despite how completely untrue it was. With all that he knew, Clockwork had plenty of options to ensure a stricter punishment upon Skulker, a punishment that would ensure he never got the chance to see his precious collection ever again. But it was wiser not to point any of that out to the alien, letting Skulker continue thinking he was winning this game of cat and mouse so that he would never notice the trap being set up around him until it was too late and he sprung it. Skulker's overconfidence would be his undoing.

Clockwork could twist the fate of time around his little pinkie without anyone being the wiser. From the very moment Skulker stepped foot in their town of Amity Park, Clockwork could have made certain that Skulker never picked up Kwan on his radar. He could have forced Skulker into breaking a law that would ensure Walker to take action and put Skulker down for the rest of his time on Earth. But that wasn't the proper flow of time, and that would only lead himself into a path of destruction. Clockwork was only meant to observe and guide, not twist and control. People needed to experience things, even horrible events, in order to grow.

Until the bell rang, Clockwork failed to realize that he allowed Skulker to draw him into a staring contest for the remaining few minutes of the period. "Remember to read chapter sixteen," Clockwork announced as students packed up to leave. "And answer all the questions at the end."

Clockwork nearly smirked when Skulker was denied the attempt to stick close to his prey. Wulf held onto Kwan's wrist, pulling the jock with him as they left the classroom. That part of time was flowing quite nicely. Not pleased with this turn of events, Skulker scowled and tripped some poor nerd with thick rimmed glasses on his way out of the room.

"Mr. Cogsworth," Danny said, interrupting his teacher's thoughts. "Can I have my notes back?" His blue eyes gazed up hopefully at the taller man.

"I'm afraid not." Clockwork walked to his desk to prepare for the next class.

"But I need them," Danny tried to argue, following after his teacher.

"Hardly useful when it's torn up." Clockwork picked up a paper then turned to present it to his student. "I'm sure this will be much more helpful to you."

Danny's brow creased in his confusion as he numbly accepted the page of notes from that day's lesson. "You had this prepared?" An eyebrow went up with that question. "Did you know I would need this?"

"I like to be prepared." Clockwork folded his arms as he stared at Danny. "But I suppose you could always just ask Keller or Long for their notes at lunch." He smirked lightly when Danny blinked in surprise that his teacher knew they ate lunch together. "You might want to hurry before you're late to your next class." Realizing the truth of that, Danny hurried out of the room and off to his next class.

Clockwork didn't get to examine the confiscated paper until lunchtime. He joined the rest his co-workers in the teacher's lounge, for once actually sitting at a table instead of in his usual corner with his head buried in his book. Reaching into his pocket, Clockwork took out the two halves of the paper then lay them out flat before him on the table. Very little of the page was actually covered in notes from the class while the rest was filled with crude drawings. Clockwork frowned, deep in thought, as he stared at them: burning eyes, dark figures, clawing hands seeking flesh to rip into, sharp fangs and forked tongue, hair that waved in the air like a flickering flame. He only needed to glimpse the drawings to know exactly what filled Danny's nightmares of late. The price the young man needed to pay was drawing closer, and soon those hands would find Danny's throat to strangle the life out of him.

"Unusual for you to sit up here with us," Lancer said, managing to tear his gaze away from the book he was reading. When he glanced at the papers before Clockwork, Lancer closed the book and leaned over the table to better look at the drawings. "What is all this?" He pulled one half of the paper closer to him.

"The price hanging over Daniel Fenton." Clockwork folded his arms over the table and turned his gaze onto Lancer. "I suppose you already have some idea about this."

Lancer frowned gravely, a hand stroking over his hairy chin as he stared at the drawings. "With the magic worked on him, it's only a matter of time before he has to face whatever price comes with it. But," he turned the paper around to Clockwork, "this?"

"He could use help." A smirk tugged at Clockwork's mouth, already knowing how things would play out with proper guidance. "Perhaps a little magic."

"Your cryptic comments never fail to be irritating in their vagueness." Lancer frowned down at the drawings again. "I'm still not even sure what I'm dealing with here. Everything about Danny is unprecedented, and from the looks of this," he pushed the paper back toward Clockwork, "it looks like something dark came with him. A protection spell might help to stall what's to come, but it won't be enough to keep him safe indefinitely."

"No, you're right. A protection spell won't be enough." Clockwork already knew what Danny needed, but unless he accepted what he was, Danny would never become strong enough to survive what lay in his future. What Danny saw in his nightmares was only a shadow of what was coming, and Danny needed to develop his skills to fight it.

"Everything you know must be a terrible burden." Lancer leaned back in his chair as his green eyes took in the tired appearance of the man beside him.

Clockwork sometimes felt like he was a thousand years older with the weight of time resting upon him. "It wasn't my choice to have this gift." He stood and walked over to where the mugs were kept and poured some coffee for himself. When he returned to his seat, he held the mug under his nose, breathing in the rich aroma before taking a sip of the hot liquid that burned pleasantly down his throat. "My grandfather lived until he was six hundred forty-three before it was time that he passed the gift to me."

"How long will you live?" Lancer picked up his book again to read while they talked.

"If all goes as it should?" Clockwork frowned into his coffee. "I could potentially live forever. I've seen a number of paths in which I die." His eyes flicked toward Lancer. "Most unpleasantly, I might add. But those aren't the paths which time should flow. My grandfather only died because it was my time to take over as Time Keeper."

"I would never wish to have your gift." Pity entered Lancer's eyes. "Sometimes not knowing may be kinder."

"But dangerous if the lack of knowing costs innocent people their lives." Clockwork sighed wearily into his coffee before gulping down what remained in his mug. He would love a moment's reprieve from all that he saw in his mind, but he knew that could never happen. When he set his mug on the table, Clockwork smirked at Lancer. "Your work with the Ghost Writer is going quite well."

"I didn't have much choice about teaching him when you brought him here," Lancer grumbled unhappily as he turned his glare on Clockwork. "He's quite adept at learning magic. If worst comes to worst, he could always free Danny from his price."

"You know life isn't meant to be easy. Lessons to learn."

But if Danny really couldn't stop his price, Clockwork might be forced to rely on Ghost Writer's ability to alter reality. That was another ace up his sleeve that Skulker wasn't aware existed. The other teachers, Vlad included, thought Clockwork was being a fool not to simply use the Ghost Writer to protect Kwan, but that ability was something to be used only in dire emergencies. If they became too reliant on using it to write themselves out of every situation, it would corrupt them and stunt the growth of those that needed to learn from the experiences that were rewritten.

"Besides," Clockwork smirked, "I have every confidence that it won't be needed."


	16. Chapter 16

Abner hugged his books to his chest as he made his way through the crowded hallway of chattering students on their way to class or lunch. His small stature often made it easy for the other students to push him around, knocking him into the lockers as he tried to squeeze by on his way to the theater. As nervous as he was the previous day about visiting the theater to have lunch with Danny and his friends, he was really glad in the end that Danny invited him, even if he ended up having to tell them all about the scars on his arms from his explosive power that he discovered only a few months ago.

The first time it happened, Abner grabbed an apple as a snack while he read a book in his bedroom. He set it on the night stand next to his bed, and a minute later, the apple exploded. He thought he was going crazy as he stared at the lumpy mess over the night stand and bed and spilling onto the floor and over the wall. Apples didn't usually explode like that, and he couldn't think of an explanation for how it happened. After a couple more accidents, Abner started thinking maybe _he_ was the one causing it. He was the common denominator in each incident, so he started testing it and discovered that his touch could turn an object into a bomb of sorts. His attempts to control the ability weren't very good, leading to several incidents where his arms got caught in the explosion, leaving them with ugly scars. The ability terrified him with the damage it could do, but he was determined to master control over it to avoid hurting someone by accident, even if he hurt himself a lot in the process.

"Abner!" Paulina appeared suddenly at his side, startling the shorter man, as she grabbed hold of his arm.

"Oh, hey, Paulina." Abner blinked in surprise as the woman grinned and pulled him along through the hallway. "Where are we going?" He glanced at the corridor leading toward the theater as they passed it, traveling to some other part of the school. The crowd of students thinned, almost everyone else heading in the opposite direction on the way to the cafeteria for lunch. Abner still found it surprising that he ate lunch with one of the prettiest and most popular women in school yesterday, along with a football jock, the new kid, the guy most of the popular crowd harassed after rejecting them, and the man that many of the normal students spread rumors about him being some kind of criminal. It was probably the strangest gathering of people to eat lunch together.

"I had an idea," Paulina answered cryptically as she grinned mischievously. "And it's a surprise."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Abner frowned, realizing he had little choice in the matter. He swallowed thickly as they entered the music department of the school. The hallway had several rooms off to the sides, each one sound proofed for people that decided to practice inside them. Abner glanced around the hallway nervously, never actually visiting this part of the school before, not even aware they had a music department until now.

Paulina peeked at the little window on each door as they passed them, darting back and forth across the hallway. When she finally stopped before one of the doors, she turned back around with a bright smile on her face. "All right, Abner." She took hold of his arm as determination flashed in her emerald eyes. "You get in there and you make this count." Yanking open the door, she shoved him inside the music room.

The door slammed shut after him before the stunned man could realize what was happening. Abner gulped when his eyes landed on the other man within the room. He stepped away until his back pressed against the door, and he groped blindly for the doorknob, but the door wouldn't open when he pushed at it. Right now, he could only think that Paulina was very evil for thrusting him into this situation.

"What do you want?" Green eyes narrowed as a frown appeared on his face at the interruption to his practice time.

"Hi," Abner tried to speak, his throat constricting and his voice came out more like a squeak. He waved a little and felt like a total fool.

The man set his guitar in a stand by his chair as he rose to his feet. He stood nearly a full head taller than Abner. His blond hair, which usually fell down to brush over the leather of his biker's jacket, was pulled back into a ponytail, keeping his hair out of his face while he practiced. "Did you want something?" he asked, folding his arms as he continued to frown at Abner.

A nervous laugh bubbled out of him, and Abner cast a glance through the door's window. Paulina gave a smile and thumbs up for encouragement, which really didn't make him feel any better about this situation. Swallowing, Abner turned back to the man looming in front of him. "Uh, well, you see," he started, twisting the hem of his shirt as a sick feeling churned inside him. Every day after chemistry, he waited around a chance to see Johnny, but he never expected to be forced into a situation where he actually had to speak with his crush. He was fine simply watching Johnny from afar for about three minutes out of the school day. When he glanced up into Johnny's eyes, Abner could feel the blush rising to his face.

"Are you planning on just stuttering this whole time? You're wasting my lunch period."

Abner gulped and took a deep breath to steel himself for what he needed to say. "I like you." Somehow, he managed not to squeak when he spoke.

Johnny's expression shifted, brow drawing together with a look of annoyance in his green eyes. "You _like_ me?" he demanded, making Abner flinched. "You don't even know me. How can you like me?"

Frowning, Abner dropped his gaze to the floor, staring at the undone laces on one of his shoes. "I know it's a bit ridiculous to just come out and say it," he mumbled, feeling his heart sink. This was part of the reason he never wanted to approached Johnny. The other man dated Kitty for almost as long as Abner could remember, though they broke up a while back. Abner wasn't sure what happened between the two seeming lovebirds that finally caused Kitty to dump Johnny. He was also fairly certain that Johnny wasn't interested in other men. "I mean, of course, you're not going to just start liking me back because I confess to you, and maybe what I feel is just some silly crush that I'll forget three months from now." With a miserable look on his face, Abner glanced up at Johnny. "But maybe, I don't know, maybe we could just hang out sometime. As friends. Or something."

Johnny shook his head, the look in his eyes saying he couldn't believe what was happening right now. "What makes you think I even want to be friends with you? Maybe you're a nice guy. I don't know." His shoulders hunched up in a brief shrug. "But I'm a loner. The only person I ever cared about was Kitty, and she dumped for some stupid rocker chick who thinks she's some awesome singer." He scowled, fists clenching tightly like he wanted to punch something to relieve some of his anger. "And she went and dyed her hair this ridiculous neon green." He jabbed a finger into Abner's chest. "So what makes you think after getting my heart stomped on by my ex that I'm going to give you a chance?"

Abner shrugged for lack of an answer as he watched the anger playing through the green eyes glaring at him. "Why not?" He frowned when Johnny twisted his hand to seize the front of Abner's shirt and pushed the shorter man hard into the door. "I know she hurt you when she dumped you. Anyone would be hurt after being together for as long as the two of you were a couple. But is it really that bad to let someone new into your life? I'm not asking you to fall in love with me. I really doubt that's ever going to happen, and I'm fine with that. But is being alone really what you want? Don't you want a friend?"

"And you think you can be that friend?"

"I'd like to try if you just give me the chance." Abner winced, waiting for a punch to come when he saw the anger still twisted upon Johnny's face. If Paulina expected this encounter to go well between the two men, then she was wrong; very, very wrong. Abner counted himself lucky that Johnny didn't immediately start pounding on him the way some of the jocks would have.

"We come from two different worlds, kid." Johnny released his hold on Abner with a little shove. He walked back over to his chair and collapsed onto it. "What makes you think we could even get along?"

"Hey, I'm older than you are," Abner argued, frowning, more like pouting at the man. When Johnny gave him a curious look, Abner flushed and tugged absently at his shirt. "By, like, eight days. Stop looking at me like that! I'm not some kind of stalker. Birthdays are listed in the school's database. Anyone could look up someone's birthday if they wanted."

Johnny snorted as he shook his head. "You are one weird kid."

Abner frowned at that comment. Forcing himself away from the door, he walked over to stand in front of Johnny. "Look. You play guitar." He gestured with one hand at the guitar that Johnny was playing when Abner was first shoved into the music room. "And I like music. So," he bit the inside of his cheek in thought, "maybe you could teach me to play. We can get to know each other while you're giving me lessons."

Johnny folded his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "Why do you even like me? Most people think I'm a jerk."

Shrugging, Abner glanced away, blush darkening upon his face. "You're not really a jerk." His eyes swept over the room, but the only chair to sit in was already occupied by Johnny. "It was raining, and there was a box of kittens just left in alleyway. They were all crying, probably starving, and the top of the box was folded up so that they couldn't get out. You found them and took them away."

"You saw that?" Johnny chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "How do you know I didn't do something bad with them? I could be some delinquent that gets his jollies mutilating poor, helpless creatures. Plenty of people think so already."

Abner shook his head. "My mom works at the animal clinic where you dropped them off. She told me this nice blond boy dropped off a box of under fed kittens that day. I was going to do that myself when I spotted the box, but you got there first." He shrugged and hugged his arms around his body. "Despite that hard exterior you show everyone, you actually have a soft side."

Johnny's eyes narrowed a fraction. "Not something I go around blurting out to everyone."

"I wasn't going to tell anyone," Abner said quickly. "But you asked why I liked you. That moment. That was the first time I really took notice of you. But of course, you were still dating Kitty at the time. I knew from the start that it was probably a hopeless crush, but you can't really control who you like, and I started liking you."

"A crush?" Johnny frowned, one blond eyebrow lifting. "That happened two years ago. You've really been hanging onto that feeling for the last two years?"

"I know. It's ridiculous to keep feeling like this to someone that isn't going to like me back. But I can't help that I like you." Abner heard his voice rising as he spoke and drew back a step from Johnny, in case the man decided to go ahead and punch him. "And maybe I'm stupid for even wanting to try to be your friend."

Johnny reached into his pocket then tossed something at Abner, who fumbled pathetically to catch it. The sharpie fell to the ground, and Abner flushed darkly as he bent to pick it up. He glanced curiously at Johnny as the other man pulled up the sleeve of his jacket.

"Write down your number. If I decide this is worth my time, I'll call you," Johnny explained, holding out his arm.

Abner hesitated, surprised by Johnny's words. Swallowing, he took hold of the man's wrist as jotted down his phone number on Johnny's arm. When he finished, Abner bit his lower lip as he capped the sharpie again. His hazel eyes flicked up toward Johnny, who tugged down the sleeve of his jacket to cover his arm and the phone number.

"Well, I guess I should let you get back to your practicing now," Abner mumbled, handing back the sharpie. "I'll, um, see you around." He gave an awkward wave as he backed toward the door. Johnny merely nodded in response, and Abner ducked out of the room. When the door closed behind him, he felt like he could finally breathe again.

"How did it go?" Paulina asked excitedly, hands clapped under her chin as she waited for the details.

"Did you expect it to go well?" Abner frowned at her, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked through the hallway.

"But the two of you," Paulina said, pouting as she walked alongside him. "Your auras looked like they would match up well. I checked Johnny's yesterday to see. That's why I thought I would set the whole thing up between the two of you." Her shoulders sagged. "I thought for sure you would hit it off if you just spoke with him."

Abner shrugged, glancing at her. "We'll just have to wait and see then. He'll either call or he won't."

Paulina stared at him then a grin spread over her face. "He's so going to call you!" Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him into painfully tight hug. "You'll have to tell me everything that happened." She kept hold of his arm, not allowing Abner to sneak away as they left the music department. One way or another, she would get the story out of him. With a sigh, Abner resigned himself to telling Paulina everything about his talk with Johnny.


	17. Chapter 17

The nightmares only grew worse every night, becoming more vivid to the point where the monster's image remained burned before his eyes when he woke in a cold sweat. The wide smirk stretching over the monster's face as its clawed hands stretched out toward him, inching closer to his throat. Danny tried to push away the increasing sense of fear and panic, trying to pass it off as just his overactive imagination playing off what Tucker said about a price to the magic Sam used. But something told him Tucker might be right. The memories of the nightmares lingered in his mind during class, and instead of taking notes, he ended up sketching what he remembered from the nightmares.

When Skulker tried to steal the paper then Cogsworth confiscated it, Danny panicked. At lunch, his mind was so distraught over what Cogsworth would do once he looked at the drawings on that paper that Danny didn't realize Paulina and Abner didn't show up until much later when lunch was nearly finished. Paulina took a seat beside him as she smiled brightly about something meanwhile Abner took his spot on the other side of Dash. Abner didn't touch any of the food, seeming too nervous about something to even think about eating. Danny didn't give it too much thought since he wasn't eating all that much either.

After school was the first rehearsal for the play, which involved a lot of standing around and reading lines from the script as Dora got a feel for how they all interacted with each other on stage. The horrible embarrassment of it all managed to take Danny's mind off his nightmares. He fumbled over his lines, his voice hoarse and cracking as he read his part. Desiree and Paulina were amazing to watch, barely even glancing at their scripts as they ran their lines with a passion that made Danny really think they were the princess and the wicked witch. Paulina tried to encourage him, but Danny swore he saw Dash snickering in the audience every time he messed up a line, or the one time he tripped over one of the props left on the stage. Danny would have rather sat in the audience with Dash instead making a fool of himself.

Coming home after each rehearsal was even less fun. Danny thought pretending that he was in a relationship with Dora would get his mother to back off about the dating thing. Instead, it seemed to only make her even more insufferable about it. When he got home from school, his mother pulled herself away from their research into the supernatural to question how things were going with Dora. It felt like an interrogation, and Danny wished his mother would go back to ignoring him like usual.

"This is completely and utterly hopeless," Danny complained, burying his face in his hands. "I'm never going to be able to learn all these lines. And I suck at acting." It was Friday, and he sat in the front seat of Dash's car as they left school after the latest rehearsal. Today, he accidently destroyed part of the set that was being painted and now his clothes were stained with green and brown paint.

"You're getting better," Paulina encouraged, reaching forward from the back seat to pat his shoulder. "You just need to practice some more."

"And that's why we're all going over to the block head's house," Desiree added, grinning widely as Dash shot a glare at her through the rearview mirror.

"I don't know why _you_ had to come," Dash grumbled as he focused his attention back on the road.

"Because I'm the princess, and Danny has the most scenes with me." Desiree's grin only widened as Dash growled.

When they finally arrived at Dash's house, Danny didn't want to get out of the car. "This is all a bad idea," Danny mumbled as Dash held the door open for him. He glanced up at the blond man, who looked like he was ready to drag Danny out of the car if it came to it.

"Danny, it's going to be fine." Dash took his arm and gave a little tug of encouragement.

"I don't know why she had stick me with this part." With a sigh, Danny climbed out of the car, and Dash slammed the door shut after him. "I'm a total klutz, and I foul up my lines in every scene."

"It's only the first week of rehearsals," Dash said, pushing Danny toward the front door where the two women were waiting. "You're not expected to nail the role from the start." He unlocked the door to allow all of them to enter.

"Paulina and Desiree have their roles nailed." Danny frowned, dumping his book bag in the front hall where the others dropped their things.

"Yeah, but we've been doing school plays since freshmen year," Paulina pointed out as she grabbed the script and a CD from her bag. "We have our little systems for memorizing lines and getting into the character. Since you're never done this before, it's only natural that it's going to take you a little more time to figure it all out. And trust me. You're actually better than the guys that tried out to be the prince."

"That's shockingly true," Desiree agreed with a cringe. Like Paulina, she probably sat in during the try outs for the role of Prince Charming. Saying he was better than those that actually tried out didn't exactly offer Danny a lot of encouragement.

"We'll have more room in the basement," Dash announced, leading the way toward the door that opened to the basement staircase.

Danny lagged behind with a depressed sigh as they followed Dash. He knew what was coming, and he dreaded it. The whole purpose of coming over to Dash's house today, beyond simply helping him memorize his lines, was to work on the dance scene that took place in the play. They hadn't practiced it yet during the rehearsals, which Danny was thankful for because he was fairly certain this practice was only going to end badly. As bad an actor as he was, he was probably an even worse dancer.

When they reached the basement, Paulina skipped over to where a stereo was set up next to a fairly nice entertainment center with a wide screen television. Dash picked up the multiple videogames that were left strewn about the floor and stored them away on the shelves of the entertainment center so that they wouldn't be in the way or cause anyone to trip over them. On the other side of the basement was a bar where bags of chips sat out on the counter. The refrigerator in the bar area held a few choices of dip for the chips and variety of soda for them all to enjoy while practicing. Dash collapsed into a beanbag chair pushed up to the side of the room to leave the whole center area open for the dancing.

"Do you have any experience with dancing?" Paulina asked as she grabbed the remote for the stereo system. Then she joined Dash and dropped onto the beanbag chair next him.

"Uh, none?" Danny laughed weakly as he rubbed at one arm.

"None?" Paulina gawked at him. "Haven't you ever gone to a school dance?"

Frowning, Danny shook his head. "I never really stayed around in one place long enough go to one. Well," he shrugged, "I was in the last town for two years, but my friends weren't interested in going to things like school dances. The popular crowd didn't exactly want the losers around when they were trying to have fun."

"Well, at least the kiss scene shouldn't be too difficult for you," Desiree said then smirked as she leaned toward him, making Danny back up a step. "Unless you're going to tell us you've never kissed before."

"Uh, well," Danny mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck as he turned his gaze away from her. He supposed that time didn't really count since their lips never actually met.

Suddenly Paulina was right in front of him as well. "Oh my god! You really haven't been kissed before!"

Danny felt the heat rising to his cheek, and when he glanced past the two women, Danny saw Dash staring at him with surprise and a little curiosity in his dark blue eyes. "It's not like I've had a lot of opportunities." He shrugged, dropping his gaze as he toyed with the sleeves of his shirt. "I mean, girls never really liked me. Then I realized I was gay and the type of guy I was attracted to was usually the kind that wanted to beat me to bloody pulp. So relationships and kissing haven't exactly worked for me."

"Well, then it's just not right for me to take your first kiss." With a devious smirk, Desiree grabbed hold of his arm and dragged Danny toward where Dash remained sitting.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Danny pulled away, backing up several steps. "No kissing." The color drained from his face, and when he spotted the frown on Dash's face and that look in his eyes like he was trying to decipher something, Danny shut off his thoughts before Dash heard something that Danny really didn't want him to hear. The frown deepened on Dash's face, and Danny gulped nervously.

"Oh, come on!" Desiree encouraged. "Kissing isn't something to get that nervous over. Just two mouths pressing together. Like this." Then before any of them could react, Desiree stepped in close and pressed her lips to Paulina's mouth. The other woman could only stand frozen as their mouths met in a quick, chaste kiss. Desiree pulled back a second later to grin at Danny. "See? Nothing to get all worked up over."

Dash coughed, perhaps hiding a laugh, while Paulina stared with wide emerald eyes in surprise. Her fingers brushed over her lips like she couldn't believe what happened. Desiree didn't seem to take any notice to the different states of shock she placed everyone in after the sudden kiss.

"Tucker is going to be so jealous that he wasn't here to see that," Danny mumbled, laughing as he shook his head. "He's totally not going to believe me if I tell him about this."

Desiree rolled her eyes. "I was only trying to show that you don't have to get all worked up about kissing someone. Don't worry about being a bad kisser or anything. And," she turned to smirk at Dash, "I'm sure a certain block head will be satisfied with your kisses no matter what."

Dash finally climbed out of his seat, face burning as brightly as Danny's blush felt. "Stop trying to push him into something," he ordered, putting himself between Desiree and Danny as he glowered at the genie. "If he doesn't feel ready to kiss someone, don't pressure him into it."

"You know," Paulina said as her eyes flicked between Dash and Danny. A sly grin slipped onto her face. "Maybe Dash should be cast as Prince Charming."

"I approve," Danny agreed immediately. "So Dash can practice the dance with Desiree. I'll just be over here kicking back and relaxing." He walked toward the beanbag chairs lining the wall, eager to escape from the role that was thrust upon him. But before he could make it over there to sit, Paulina grabbed Danny's arm and spun him back around toward the center of the room.

"I wasn't finished yet." The smile on Paulina's face made Danny certain that he wouldn't like what she was about to say. "So Dash is Prince Charming. Naturally."

Dash mock bowed, like a gentleman in those old fashion movies about to ask a lady to dance. Something in his amused grin told Danny that Dash had an idea what was going on in Paulina's mind.

"And for the princess," Paulina said, and now Desiree was snickering behind a hand, "that would be you." She gave Danny a shove toward Dash, who still bowed with one hand offered out before him toward Danny. Taking Desiree's hand, Paulina pulled the other woman with her over to the beanbag chairs where they both sat wearing wide grins.

"Ha, ha, ha," Danny muttered and shot a glare toward the two women. Paulina blinked innocent emerald eyes while Desiree pretended to be fascinated with the ceiling as she twirled some of her long ebony locks around one finger. "I didn't even want to be in this play. Why am I suddenly being forced to play a girl?" He looked to Desiree, hoping maybe she would demand the lead role back, but the genie seemed content enough making the raven haired man suffer.

"Give it up," Dash whispered right next to Danny's ear, making the shorter man jump as the sudden nearness startled him. "Once they get an idea in their mind, they rarely let it go."

"For all your hate toward her, you sound like you know Desiree pretty well," Danny grumbled back as he turned to face Dash. He put a step of space between them, Dash's closeness not sitting well with him.

Dash shook his head. "It just seems like she shares a like mind with Paulina in a situation like this. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have given up the role so easily."

"Enough whispering." Paulina clapped her hands for attention. The wide smile was back on her face as she pressed play on the remote and music filled the basement. It was the song that would be playing during the scene where the prince and princess danced together, the end of which, Danny realized, was where they were meant to kiss. "Time to start practicing the dance scene.

"Do we have to do this?" Danny asked, hearing a pathetic whine in his voice as he pouted at Paulina. "Can't we just read lines? I need a lot of work on that."

"You need to learn the dance too. And this is a nice wide area for you to practice in. You won't have to worry about accidentally falling off the stage and hurting yourself." Paulina hit a button on the remote, and the song restarted. "Now start dancing."

"Maybe it would be better if I hurt myself," Danny muttered unhappily. If he fell off the stage and sprained his ankle, he wouldn't be able to continue in the play. Then they only had to convince Dora to cast Dash in his place, and everything would be solved.

Dash grabbed hold of his arm and yanked Danny toward him. When he bumped into Dash's body, Danny tried to immediately pull away, but the blond man refused to let him go. Angry dark blue eyes glared down at him as Dash's mouth thinned. Danny swallowed thickly, telling himself to look away but fear kept his gaze locked on Dash's eyes.

"I don't want to ever hear you say something like that again," Dash said firmly, his gripping tightening to almost painful around Danny's biceps.

It took a moment for Danny to catch Dash's meaning, and when it did, his eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that," he said hurriedly. "I just think it would be better for someone else to take on the role. I don't think I can do this. I really don't think I can." Shaking his head, he tried to pull away from Dash. He was almost pressed against the taller man and could feel the warm breath washing over his face and ruffling his dark locks. He needed to break away before a panic attack set in because of the closeness.

"You just need a little practice," Dash assured him as he took Danny's left hand to place it on his shoulder. "And lucky for you, I happen to be a fairly good teacher when it comes to dancing."

"His mother made him take lessons when he was twelve," Paulina said, grinning madly when Dash scowled at her for revealing that little piece of information.

Danny might have laughed at it if Dash didn't take that moment to place his left hand on his dance partner's hip. His muscles grew tense as Dash pulled him right up against his broad chest. Dash's hand held part of the spot where Danny's wrinkled flesh was, and memories of that night came back to Danny, flashing in his mind as his throat constricted. The grip was light but firmly held Danny in place against him. When he looked into Dash's eyes, Danny didn't see the usual dark blue but bright, gleaming bronze, nearing golden. A frown pulled at Dash's mouth as he watched Danny. It was that look he usually got whenever he was hearing someone's thoughts, or at least it was the look Danny noticed when Dash might have overheard his thoughts. Danny tried to push away his memories, but it was like having Dash's hand holding his scarred side forced all the memories to front of his mind. When Dash reached to take his right hand, Danny snapped it away, cradling it against his chest.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Dash asked cautiously, reaching out a hand to lift Danny's head to look at him.

"Don't touch me!" Danny shouted as he shoved Dash away from him, keeping the hand from touching him, his flesh. He hugged his arms protectively around him as the hand fell away from his hip. Despite knowing he probably looked crazy, his mind was on something else. The memories were still fresh in his mind, and he prayed his thoughts weren't being broadcast too loudly.

But there was something beyond the panic that drew his attention. The moment he shouted, he didn't miss the gasp from Paulina or the sudden tension filling the air. Danny backed away several steps, snapping his gaze from person to person. Paulina held a hand over her mouth, emerald eyes wide in surprise. Desiree looked tense, trying not to let her shock show as goose bumps prickled over the exposed skin of her arms.

Dash, meanwhile, only showed concern in his eyes as a grave expression stayed on his face. "Danny, it's okay."

Danny wanted to laugh at that statement, or maybe cry, because nothing about anything felt okay to him. He could barely even get close to Dash without the memories attacking him, without panic and fear grabbing hold of him until he couldn't even breathe. He was weak and pathetic, and he thought he was a fool if he thought Dash would ever love him after learning the truth about him.

"Danny," Dash tried again in a soothing voice. Paulina and Desiree remained quiet as they watched the two men worriedly.

But Danny shook his head and stepped away from him again. Tears were gathering and a sick feeling churned inside him. He simply couldn't do it, and it was killing him that he was probably throwing away the chance with the one man that ever showed an interest in him. He needed to leave before he made things even worse, before he let Dash hear what happened. Bolting up the stairs out of the basement, Danny ignored the shouts of his friends not to leave.

Danny ran out the front door and kept running. Not even sure where he was going, he simply kept moving, legs pumping as tears finally spilled over to leave tracks down his cheeks. His book bag remained where he dumped it in the front hallway of Dash's house, but that hardly mattered to him at the moment. Escaping, running with the winter wind whipping passed his face, stinging and biting at his exposed flesh, Danny wished he could erase the memories simply by outrunning them. But they chased him, followed him wherever he went, never giving him a moment's rest from what happened.

His breath came in hard pants as he finally stopped before a familiar house. An urge told him to turn away and leave, seek his old relief with a sharp blade sliding across his wrist, tearing through flesh and letting rich, red blood flow. But he drove that impulse away as he lifted a fist and pounded on the door, praying the man was home. When the door opened, Danny stared up at the balding man. His voice lodged in his throat, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words as those green eyes gazed down the man's nose at him.

"Can we talk?" Danny asked in a small, quiet voice when could finally speak again.

"Of course." The man stepped aside, allowing Danny to enter his home. "I told you before that I'm always hear for my students if they need to talk." He closed the door and guided Danny into the front room where they could sit comfortably. "You may begin whenever you like."

Danny stared around the home of his teacher, only having been here once previously. He never expected to seek out Lancer after the man offered to be there for him if he ever decided to talk. Danny swallowed, forcing down the lump preventing him from speaking as he wiped sweaty hands on his jeans. "It happened eight months ago..."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes rape. If you don't like to read about that sort of thing or it's a trigger for you, please feel free to skip over this chapter.

"I'm on my way," Danny said, tugging on his shoes which were getting a little old and the heel of the right one was starting to fall off. "My parents _finally_ fell asleep, so we won't have to worry about them blundering this whole thing."

"You should have just used that sleeping powder I gave you," Sam complained, and Danny could envision her tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for him to turn up at their usual meeting spot.

"Right. And risk turning them into toads?" Danny laughed quietly as he opened the window in his room, being careful that it didn't make any noise that might wake his parents sleeping soundly in the room next to his. Luckily, his window opened up right onto the porch roof, and from there, he could easily use one of the posts to slide down to the ground without injuring himself. It was almost a nightly routine for him now after a year and a half, practically, of sneaking out like this. Plenty of nights, he could actually walk right out the front door without worrying about being caught by his parents because those were the nights that his parents were out late trying to hunt down some supernatural being.

"I told you I got it right this time," Sam grumbled. "And hey, I managed to change them back the last time. And they didn't even realize anything happened."

"Yeah, and you're lucky they didn't." Danny hit the ground, clapping his hands like dusting them off as he held the phone trapped between his ear and shoulder. "Do you know what they would do if they ever realized you were a witch? Sam, it's way too dangerous for you be messing around with spells when my parents are involved."

"Please," Sam snorted, and probably rolled her eyes. "You're parents are completely oblivious. They don't even realize when they walk right by someone that's really, like, a werewolf or something. I doubt they'll ever realize I'm a witch."

"But speaking about dangerous," Tucker cut in with a frown in his voice. "Are we sure this is a good idea? I mean, this thing has killed at least three people in five nights. And we don't even know what it is."

"That's why Danny was going to sneak into his parents' lab and do some research about whatever this thing is," Sam pointed out. "What did you find out?"

Danny sighed, running a hand through his raven hair. "You do realize my parents have _tons_ of books about the supernatural, right? And not a lot of them is all that accurate." He walked down the street, heading for their meet up spot. "I cross referenced with some books I have secretly stashed away and did some searching on the internet, but based on what we heard about those three cases, we didn't really have a lot of information to go on. I mean, there are a lot of creatures that could have done what happened to those people. I guess sucking out a person's life force is a common method of feeding for some of these things." From everything that he read since the first attack five days ago, Danny wasn't sure he wanted to encounter this thing, whatever it was. Depending on the method the creature used to feed, he and Tucker would be pretty defenseless against it. Sam could defend against a number of different enemies with her magic, as long as she managed to cast it properly. A number of her spells tended to go wrong, like turning his parents into toads instead of putting them to sleep.

"Well, when has not knowing ever stopped us from finding whatever new supernatural threat shows up in our town?" Sam asked with a little too much enthusiasm in her voice, which actually sounded strange because Sam usually had such a dark outlook on everything, being a Goth. She wasn't supposed to get excited about stuff, but when it came to uncovering the supernatural, her enthusiasm sometimes seemed like it bordered on the same level of Danny's parents. The biggest difference being that Sam was actually very sharp when it came to recognizing the signs of a supernatural being.

"I still have a bad feeling about all of this," Tucker said, though his concerns usually went ignored when Sam got interested in a case.

"I'll talk to you guys when I get there." Danny hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket as he shook his head. They could try to convince Sam to give up on this, but she never listened. Danny sighed heavily at that fact. He often got tangled up in a lot of supernatural messes by accident, but with Sam as his friend, his encounters with the supernatural seemed to double, if not triple. Sam couldn't let something go when it involved the supernatural.

Danny turned down an alleyway, taking a short cut through a not so good part of town on his way to their meet up spot in the park. Swallowing thickly, he shoved his hands into his pockets as his eyes darted all around the alleyway. It was dirty with garbage littering the narrow space between buildings. Even with a dumpster in the middle of the alleyway, the people didn't much care about cleanliness. He picked his way through the trash, trying not to step in something gooey or sticky or worse.

This wasn't the best path toward the park, but it was faster and he was already late after waiting half the night for his parents to go to bed. They decided to work late into the night on a project, some new invention for hunting sirens, which apparently there was a rumor that there might be some lurking in the nearest lake, and they were planning to make a trip to the lake sometime that weekend. Danny rolled his eyes, wondering where exactly his parents heard all these rumors because half the time they turned out to be untrue. The other half usually wound up being something else entirely and often meant landing Danny into trouble and at risk of losing his life.

"Maybe I'll get lucky, and this time we won't meet up with the latest baddie," Danny mumbled, shoulders hunching, but knowing his luck, he doubted he would escape without running into something. He hoped whatever they ran into wouldn't be the same thing that killed the three women. A shudder ran through him as he remembered how young they were, ranging from sixteen to nineteen. The age range only made him feel sicker over the whole thing as he tried to think which of the creatures that he read about would be attacking such young women.

There didn't seem to be much in common among the women, not that there was always a common denominator among victims when it came to the supernatural. Some killed for the sake of killing, and they didn't discriminate among their victims. Others had patterns, sought out particular victims which helped in identifying what they might be facing. But there were no witnesses to describe the monster killing off young women, so they only really had the method of killing as a means of identification, but it didn't narrow down their suspect pool.

But with them all being young females, Danny was worried about his friend. Sam was way too interested in hunting for the supernatural, and in this case, that might lead her right into the monster's hands, if it had hands. He felt cold, thinking about Sam being the next victim, seeing her lifeless body lying on the ground with dead violet eyes. He didn't want to see that happen to her, but of course, to keep her safe, they really did need to find this creature.

Something shifted, a bit of garbage dislodging from its pile and tumbling into the center of the alleyway. Danny froze, breath catching as his body tensed, fear coiling tightly inside him. He had a stake on him, the usual weapon he carried in case he ever encountered a vampire, which would be shocking given the amount of time he spent in cemeteries. But a stake wouldn't be helpful against a lot of other types of supernatural creatures. When he heard a soft mewing, Danny sighed, and the tension melted out of him. A small white cat climbed free of the trash, meowing plaintively for attention.

"You scared me, little guy," Danny said as he crouched in front of the cat. When he reached out a hand toward it, the cat hesitantly stretched its head toward the hand to sniff it. But its heckles rose, tail puffing out, as it hissed. Danny blinked in confusion at the cat, not understanding the reaction. Cats usually liked him, most animals really. Dogs sometimes liked to see him as a chew toy though.

A hand slapped over his mouth, muffling the startled yelp that tried to escape him. Catching its victim off guard, the attacker dragged Danny back to his feet in one quick movement, plastering Danny's backside against a hard, and what felt like lean muscled chest. Whoever it was seemed definitely male from the feel of his body against Danny's back. Grabbing at the hand, Danny tried to pry it away from his mouth as the man's second arm wrapped firmly around the raven haired man's waist. With a sharp jerk that made Danny wince, the attacker yanked Danny's head to the side, exposing his pale neck to the attacker. His first thought was vampire, dimly thinking it was strange for him to finally get attacked by one in some dark alleyway rather than the cemetery. Then the attacker bent his head down, burying his face in the crook of Danny's neck as he breathed in deeply the fear filled scent of his prey.

"You're not my usual type," whispered the man, his warm breath washing over Danny's ear, only increasing the panic surging through his victim. "But you're pretty enough to make an exception. Especially with a scent like that." He chuckled, a grin spreading over his face, lips barely brushing Danny's ear. "I'm surprised no one's had you yet. You probably taste divine."

When he felt a tongue caressed the curves of his ear, Danny's panic reached an all time high as his blue eyes went wide. Opening his mouth, he bit down hard on the man's hand, drawing a shout and expletives from his attacker. Once the hand pulled away from him, Danny pushed his way out of the man's hold, stumbling over his feet and trash to get away, put distance between them. Spinning around, he gulped at the sight of his attacker. The man stood at least a foot taller than Danny with long, lean muscled limbs. A scowl twisted his face which would be way too pretty for a man otherwise. A black cloak hid the pale, almost ivory flesh of his body, and the long black hair with hints of blue melted into the cloak as it framed his face and spilled past his shoulders. Bronze, almost golden, eyes glared darkly at Danny as the man bared sharp teeth in a snarl. The man could be a vampire from the look of him, but something told Danny this man was something entirely different.

"I was going to let you enjoy this," the man growled, fingers with long, sharp nails flexing at his sides. "But you're going to regret that."

Now was the time to run, Danny realized as he turned to flee from the alleyway. _Just my luck to run into some freaky monster_ , he thought as he raced for the park, praying Sam would have some kind of spell to fight off whatever that man was. When he didn't hear the man following after him, Danny threw a glance over his shoulder but found nothing behind him. He doubted the monster gave up that easily after making such a threat. His heart pounded in his chest, fear driving him to run even faster away from that man.

The thick grove of trees that marked the beginning of the park loomed into view. Tucker and Sam wouldn't be too far away now, and that fact filled Danny with a small, very tiny, amount of hope. He passed through the first row of trees when his foot caught on something. With a shout, he hit the ground, wincing as he landed awkwardly on his right arm. A weight landed on top of him before Danny could manage to climb to his feet. His heart practically stopped when he felt warm breath tickling the hair at the back of his neck.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun with you," the man whispered as one long nail scraped lightly down Danny's neck, tugging down the collar of his shirt to reveal more of his pale flesh.

Danny grabbed at whatever he could find, desperate to escape. Whatever this man wanted from him, Danny was certain he didn't want to stick around to find out what it was. His hand wrapped around a stone, not very big and fitting nicely within his palm but it would have to do. His muscles all tensed when a wet tongue licked up from the base of his neck to where his hair started and the man released a moan after tasting his salty flesh. Danny really didn't want to find out what this man wanted from him! But his heart sank as a terrifying thought tried wiggle its way to the forefront of his mind, and he thought he might actually know what killed those three women, what was currently crouched upon him.

Twisting under the man, Danny swung his arm, somehow managing to catch the man on the forehead with the rock. The man reared back, growling as he held a hand to his bruised forehead. Danny didn't waste the opportunity to scramble out from under the man to run away, but he barely made it to his feet when the man tackled him back to the ground. This wasn't good! This was so far from being good! Danny dug his fingers into the soft earth, trying to crawl his way out from under the man, but the weight on him had him fairly well pinned to the ground. The man straddled him, long fingers sliding under the hem of Danny's shirt and skimming over his flesh as his muscles tensed at the light touches.

"This could have felt so much better for you," the man said, almost cooing as his nails scraped down Danny's back, pressing just a touch harder into the tender flesh but not enough to rip into him. Not yet anyway.

Danny tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat, which might have actually been his heart, choked him. He needed to get away from this man. He needed to get Sam and Tucker. Opening his mouth, Danny screamed as loudly as he could, praying that they would hear him and come to his rescue.

The man grabbed hold of Danny's arms, squeezing them painfully as he flipped his victim onto his back, slamming Danny down with enough force to make Danny feel like his brain literally rattled around inside his skull. For several moments, the world was dark before everything finally blinked back into view for him. He would be lucky if that blow to the head didn't leave him with a concussion, not that that would matter if this man ended up killing him.

"No one's going to come to your rescue," the man hissed, fury in his bronze eyes that swam before Danny. "But to keep you quiet." A smirk spread over that creepily pretty face as the man placed a hand over his victim's mouth for a second time.

Danny pulled at the hand, digging his stubby nails into the man's flesh in his attempt to tear the hand from mouth. Something wet touched his skin under the hands, something sticky that burned, stung, and Danny screamed as it felt like his lips were on fire. His voice could barely be heard under the pressure of the hand and the sticky substance stretching out to coat his entire mouth. He thrust his fist at the man, praying he might somehow knock his attacker out, except Danny knew he wasn't all that strong. Releasing his hold on Danny's mouth, the man caught the arm before it could even connect with him. When the creature slammed his arm to the ground, squeezing the wrist so hard it felt like bone was grinding painfully against bone, Danny whimpered, the sound muffled by the sticky substance acting as a gag. His other arm joined the first one, pinned above his head.

"Did you really think you stood a chance against me?" Smirk spreading over his face, the creature leaned his head down, his tongue sneaking out to lick over Danny's mouth. The gag was the only thing preventing Danny from actually experiencing the gross feeling of that sick tongue over his lips.

Bile twisted in Danny's stomach, and he struggled to keep the vomit from rising up his throat. Turning his head aside as the man nipped at his jaw bone, Danny clamped his eyes shut and tugged his arms, yanking against the hold on them. A burning sensation around his wrists made him realized with a sinking feeling that the same stuff coating his mouth was being used to bind his arms over his head. He needed to do something, something fast, but he couldn't think of any way to escape. His arms were trapped. He couldn't scream for help. He couldn't move much under the man's weight.

Light kisses trailed down his throat as a ripping sound filled the air. His muscles tensed up as the night air touched his exposed chest. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Danny wished he could wake up and find this was all just some horrible nightmare. Every touch of the man's hands stroking over his flesh or brush of lips upon his skin, tongue tracing every contour of his chest's muscles sickened him. He tugged desperately at the bonds holding his arms, trying to break free, but the more he struggled the more painful the burning around his wrists became, feeling like the substance was melting away his flesh. Danny flailed out with his legs, the only means of attacking he had left at this point.

"You're only going to make this more unpleasant for yourself." Pinning his victim's legs down, spread wide, the creature grinned like he was actually enjoying Danny's attempts to fight him. Something snaked around Danny's leg, holding it in place, and Danny was fairly certain he didn't want to know what that was. The creature slipped the button of Danny's jeans out of its hole then slowly tugged down the zipper.

Danny screamed against the gag, praying someone might somehow hear him, as he fought to free himself from everything holding him down. He would rather be facing that horde of goblins again. That night was among his top three worst experiences with the supernatural, and he still couldn't believe his parents bought the whole story about falling out of a tree to break his leg and the long gash down one arm that still left a bit of a scar, but it was starting to fade away at last. Goblins were horrible little creatures and _mean_ , but despite their small size, they were a terror to face with their large numbers. Danny still wasn't sure how they managed to get out of that scrape with their lives. He thought for sure the goblins almost killed Tucker at one point, and he almost lost it that point.

"Those women didn't even smell half as good as you."

The man's voice snapped Danny back to the present with another sickening reminder of what exactly was happening to him at that moment. Danny clamped his eyes shut, trying to force his mind to think of something other than the fact that the man was practically nuzzling his crotch, which he realized with a lurch of his stomach, was fully exposed. Long fingered hands stroked at the insides of his thighs, and Danny wished this creature would simply kill him and get it over with. Jerking his legs and trying yet again to kick at the man earned him a nip with sharp teeth at his thigh. Danny shouted as a thin line of warm blood trickled from the spot where the teeth pierced his flesh. A tongue lapped up the blood, and Danny wished the gag wasn't covering his mouth so that he could turned his head and vomit.

"You should just give up," the man whispered as he leaned over Danny. His mouth brushing over the gag covering Danny's mouth in some perverse form of a kiss. Large, leathery wings opened, spreading wide over the man, revealing the whole of his ivory skinned body, and Danny realized that cloak the man wore wasn't clothing at all. "This would be so much more pleasant for you if you just gave in to it." He pushed Danny's knees up to his chest, grinning at the terror in the bright blue eyes watching him. "Those women were begging it for it as I took their virginity. Such sweet tastes. Nothing's better than a virgin."

Danny couldn't breathe as his heart raced in his chest like it might burst at any moment from overworking itself. The head of what he hoped to any god listening was a penis pressed against his ass, nudging its way inside him. In his life time, Danny encountered too many different varieties of creatures to count or even list out all the names. Some had horns in very strange places. Some had spiked things that Danny didn't even want to think about. There were others that had weird and unusual body parts that Danny didn't know what the creatures used them for. A penis would at the very least be something normal.

Throwing his head back as his body arched off the ground, Danny screamed at the violation to his body. The man, an incubus Danny finally realized, laughed in enjoyment of his victim's pain. Hot tears burned in Danny's eyes, blurring his vision. His toes curled as he yanked more violently at the bonds holding his arms, not caring about the pain it caused to his wrists because nothing was worse the agony of the incubus forcing its way inside him.

"You know," the incubus said into Danny's ear like a lover whispering sweet nothings to his partner even though this was anything but that. "The other incubi are so stuck in the old ways, only chasing after females." He chuckled, shifting and Danny cringed as he felt the penis moving inside him. "But sometimes a cute little boy with a tight ass is so much better." He smirked against Danny's ear. "Did you know that incubi can release a pheromone that forces a reaction out of their victims, even the ones fighting so hard to resist them?"

A new source of panic rose up in Danny as he watched the leathery wings overhead flap lightly. He thought he caught flecks of colors flashing in the air as the wings folded behind the incubus. Shaking his head violently from side to side, Danny tried not to breath in whatever the incubus just released into the air. But it didn't seem to need to be inhaled to work. Licks of flaming heat danced across his flesh, burning hotter where the incubus stroked his flesh. Fingers skimmed over his body, exploring his chest, running over his arms, stroking his collarbone. The sharp nails of the thumbs pressed lightly against his Adam's apple, threatening to pierce right through the flesh, instead drawing twin lines down his throat to the hollow and back up again. The incubus touched him reverently, like a lover worshiping his partner's body.

He ran his tongue along the curve of Danny's ear and down to the lobe that he sucked into his mouth while he thrust deep and hard into Danny, slowly building up a rhythm. Danny's eyes grew wide, and he choked on a sob, tears leaking down the sides of his face. Something, he couldn't see and didn't want to know about, wrapped around his cock as it squeezed and stroked blood into Danny's penis. For once, Danny wished some freak accident would happen, like a meteor heading for Earth the happened to strike right where he was at that moment.

Danny sobbed pathetically, knowing as soon as the incubus finished with this that he would suck the life out of his victim. Already he could feel his energy draining out of him. His last memories of life would be of an incubus raping him. The images of those three women on the news when they reported the story about their murders popped in his mind as the incubus moaned, continuing to tear into his latest victim. Danny died inside, thinking of how he would appear in a similar news story, of how his friends would look when they saw him, of his parents and his sister. He cried even harder as he saw the people he cared about crying over his death. Many times in the past, he thought for sure he was going to die, but he never thought it would be like this, at the hands of an incubus.

"You taste better than I thought you would," the incubus groaned as he thrust harder and faster until Danny thought he would be torn apart by the force.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker's voices reached their ears. Danny's heart, and breathing, stopped upon hearing his friends calling for him. This wasn't how he wanted his friends to find him! He didn't want them come and find an incubus raping him.

The incubus stopped moving, his cock still buried deep inside his victim. "Meddlesome humans!" he growled as he pulled out of Danny and folded his wings about him like a cloak. "And I almost finished my meal." He glowered down at the broken human laid out beneath him, and without even a second thought or hesitation, he stabbed his hand into Danny's left side, wrenching a scream from his victim. His mouth stretched into a cruel smirk as he ripped his hand free, tearing open Danny's body with blood and guts spilling onto the ground. "You wouldn't have lived much longer anyway." With that, he turned and fled as the shouts for Danny grew closer.

Pain was all he knew in that moment. Pain from the violation of his body. Pain from his insides being strewn out. Even attempting to move only added to his agony. It was getting even harder to breathe, the world dimming in his eyes. He already felt drained from the incubus feeding on him, and now bleeding out was zapping away what little strength remained in him. His heart was slowing. He could feel each beat taking longer and longer to thump in his chest. Soon it would stop and his life would cease, stolen from him at last by the supernatural.

Darkness closed in on him. It was cold and lonely, but the pain couldn't reach him anymore. He smiled a little at that. Or at least, he thought he smiled. It was hard to tell when he wasn't sure he even had a form in this dark place, wherever it was. Maybe this was what everyone experienced when they died: cold, lonely darkness. There was no paradise in the clouds where he reunited with dead relatives or got to be happy. There was no fiery pit in hell where he would be tortured for all eternity. There was only the cold and the dark. Alone. So very alone. He didn't want to be alone, even if the pain of living couldn't chase him here. He wanted his friends, his family, even if his parents were a little crazy. He always hoped to at least experience love once before dying, and now he would never get the chance. If he had a form, he thought for sure he would be crying now.

"You can make it back if it's what you desire." The voice drew Danny out of his misery, and he tried to search through the darkness for the owner of that voice. He wasn't alone after all?

"Who's there?" Danny shouted, finding a voice somewhere. Small beams of light shot through the darkness in random patterns, sparks dancing past his eyes. He thought he might have heard Tucker and Sam's voice calling out to him, begging him not to leave them.

"Do you want to go back?" Red eyes appeared before him, peering through the darkness at him.

Danny gulped, or maybe he only imagined that he did. It was hard to tell in the darkness if he existed in a physical form or was merely some floating consciousness. "I don't want to die," he whispered pathetically in a broken voice. Because as painful as life was at times, he didn't want to be lost here in the darkness for his whole afterlife. He didn't want his friends and family mourning his loss. He wanted to wake up and hug them and assure them that he was still alive and whole.

But he wasn't. He died, killed by the incubus. His body was broken, torn open and left to expire before his friends could even find him. He never even got to say goodbye to anyone. He tried to think back to what his last words were to the people he cared about. To his parents, it was a simply "good night." He told Sam and Tucker that he would see them when he got to their meeting spot and that would never happen now.

Something like arms seemed to wrap around him, and Danny leaned into them, seeking comfort in the only thing that existed in this dark place. "You don't have to cry anymore. I'll keep you safe from now on."

 

The tears were running hotly down his cheeks after he finished speaking. Several times, he choked on his words, having difficulty telling the whole of what happened to him. Lancer never forced him, simply offering him kind words of encouragement and letting him take as much time as he needed to get the words out. At one point, the panic of reliving the whole event caught up to him, and Danny rushed out of the front room to find the nearest bathroom to vomit in the toilet instead of spewing the contents of his stomach all over his teacher's nice coffee table. As nice as Lancer was being to him, Danny didn't think it would make the man happy to have him vomit in the front room. He remembered Lancer wasn't exactly happy when Danny and Wulf got blood all over his kitchen, but at the time, his teacher was more concerned with making sure Wulf didn't die from the poison.

Danny kept his head lowered, unable to look at the man across from him and see the reaction Lancer had to hearing the story. He shivered unconsciously as he recalled the feel of the incubus' hands over his flesh and of his body being torn into, and he had to force his thoughts away from the memories before he needed to make a second trip to the bathroom. Picking up the glass of water that Lancer got for him at some point during the story, Danny lifted it to his mouth, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he took a sip of the splashing clear liquid. Silence reigned for several long moments, and Danny felt an oppressive weight crushing down on him when his teacher gave no response.

Then Lancer sighed, and Danny forced his gaze up to the man despite his great unwillingness to see the disgust in his teacher's eyes. Danny felt like he was right at the breaking point, and all Lancer needed to do was give him one little nudge to throw him over the edge. But when he met those green eyes, Danny didn't see the disgust he expected. There was pity and sorrow and pain and regret, but no disgust.

"Daniel," Lancer said as he stood, walking around the coffee table to sit next to Danny on the sofa. "It's not uncommon for victims of rape to blame themselves for what happened." He took his student's hand, and Danny flinched away, his heart racing at the thought of having Lancer touch his flesh. But the man refused to let Danny pull away and held the hand firmly in his larger hands. A curious flicker passed through his eyes, but he didn't comment about what he felt when he touched Danny's skin. "You're not damaged, Daniel. I know this was a very traumatic event for you, and it'll take a long time to recover from it. But the first step is talking to someone about it. I'm glad you finally found the courage to speak out."

"I wasn't just raped though," Danny mumbled, tears gathering in his eyes again. Saying he wasn't damaged didn't make him feel any less like he was. When he thought about the way he was violated by that incubus, he could only feel disgust for himself. He couldn't think of why anyone would want him after something like that happened to him. "I died. I was dead for at least ten minutes before my friend managed to revive me with some weird spell, and she doesn't even really know what she did that actually worked. This was magic she never even tried before. It was beyond anything she even knew about."

"From your story, it sounds like she might have had a little help." Lancer stood and walked over to a chest of drawers.

"What do you mean?" Danny's brow creased with worry.

"I'm sure you're aware that the kind of magic required to revive someone from the dead doesn't come without a price." Lancer returned to the sofa, holding something in his hands. Danny could only nod in response, though he didn't really know all that much about the ways of magic and witches except that usually there was a cost for using magic. "And I suppose you've been having some nightmares about it recently." He unfolded pieces of papers and held them out of Danny to see.

When he glanced at what was on the torn papers, Danny swallowed thickly at his sketchy drawings. "Cogsworth showed you this?" He flicked worried blue eyes to his teacher.

"He was worried when he saw what you drew." Lancer placed the papers on the coffee table as a deep frown tugged at his mouth. "We believe this might be the price you're meant to pay."

"What?" Danny gasped out, though he already suspected that himself.

"I can't say when it will come, but it will come one day." Lancer's expression was serious as he stared down at Danny. "And in order to keep yourself safe, you'll need figure out how to grow stronger. You're something unique, Daniel. You're not a zombie or a vampire. You're something new. And I believe you probably have abilities that you haven't even discovered yet."

"Well, I did figure out one thing." Danny chewed on his lip in nervousness. Other than Sam and Tucker, he never let anyone learn about what he could do. He held the glass of water in his hands and concentrated. Slowly, frost spread over the glass, reaching through the barrier to freeze the water into a solid block of ice. When he finished, he lifted his gaze to his teacher. "That's about all I can do. We first discovered it one night when I was walking barefoot and everything my feet touched grew frost on it."

"An interesting ability," Lancer noted as he observed what Danny could do. "It's a start. I'm sure there's probably plenty more you could do if you made the effort to try."

Danny frowned as he leaned forward to place the frozen glass upon the coffee table. "Do you think," he started hesitantly. "Do you think you could help me with that? I've been kind of scared. I don't even know what I am, and I keep worrying about maybe hurting someone with whatever powers I develop."

"I would be happy to help you." Lancer smiled as he rested a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder. "I might suggest that you talk to your friends about this. Not necessarily about the rape," Lancer added quickly, raising a hand to silence Danny. "But your friends won't judge you for being not quite human. Many of them have secret abilities they no doubt have told you about. It's only fair that you confide in them about what you can do," he tapped the glass with one finger, "as well."

"I know," Danny admitted, hanging his head. "I've just been scared. I hadn't told anyone about what happened to me beyond my friends from Wisconsin who were there and saved me."

"They won't abandon you, Daniel." Lancer squeezed Danny's shoulder, offering comfort to him. Danny knew his teacher was right, but it didn't stop him from panicking a little at the idea of eventually telling Dash and everyone the truth.


	19. Chapter 19

Johnny parked his motorcycle on street, hanging his head with a tired sigh. He honestly couldn't remember what possessed him when he picked his phone and dialed the number he copied down from his arm. It was a random spur of the moment decision that he thought he probably regretted now. He couldn't fathom why he was currently outside the home of a short, dusty blond haired man who turned up only a few days ago in the music room where Johnny was practicing to confess to him. It all seemed like some cheesy romance story about young love that would take the couple on some sickeningly sweet journey to true love, or some other shit like that, and Johnny didn't want to be a part of it. Yet there he was, waiting outside for the man to pop out of the house with a bright smile beaming from his face simply at the sight of his crush.

"What am I thinking?" Johnny muttered, rubbing at his forehead. After getting dumped by Kitty at the start of the year, Johnny really wasn't interested in hooking up with someone new, especially not some kid that didn't know the first thing about him. Knowing about that one time he rescued the box of kittens in the rain didn't count as really knowing him. Johnny always did have a love for cats, especially the little ones, and it was probably why he always called his ex Kitty. They dated for so long that almost everyone thought that was her real name, instead of a pet name he gave her at the beginning of their relationship.

Thinking back to the beginning, Johnny smiled at the memories he shared with Kitty. They met back when they were four, and for whatever reason, he was drawn to her and immediately went over to yank on her pigtail like the little brat he was. From there, they were always bickering with each other, calling each other names and sticking out tongues at each other like all little children. But they were always together, and the other children teased them about being in love, always singing that stupid kissing song. At ten years old, Johnny stole his first kiss from her. It was an innocent peck on the cheek, but it turned them from squabbling at each other to dating. They dated right up until the start of senior year.

Johnny admitted he wasn't always the best boyfriend. His eyes wandered from time to time when a pretty woman passed him, but that was common for any man. It was simply in his nature to notice other women, and sometimes he would even flirt with them. But he never went so far as to actually cheat on Kitty. He remained faithful to her throughout their years of dating. When he flirted with some other women, he never did so with the intent of dating her or dragging her off to some dark corner where he could make out with her or something more. It was all very innocent, a simple glance of eyes meeting and a smirk or a little comment here and there, though he knew Kitty thought it was anything but that. He tried to explain it to her, that those other women never meant anything to him, but Kitty would never listen to him.

Flirting was apparently a big sin in Kitty's eyes, but while she was making him feel like shit for an innocent flirt every once in a while, Kitty was off cheating on him during the summer after junior year. She might think he had no idea about it, but Johnny caught them more than once over the summer. It looked mostly innocent, like hand holding, but there were times when he spotted Ember leaning in much too closely to Kitty, who would blush profusely while the singer whispered into her ear, her body practically pressed right up against Kitty. When Ember managed to convince Kitty to dye her hair, Johnny knew the singer had his girl wrapped around her little finger. Kitty never would have dyed her hair if _he_ asked her.

The whole fight that led to their breakup happened when Kitty came across him flirting with another woman. An older woman. But what she wouldn't let him explain was that he was trying to get a better deal on a pair of tickets to a concert to _her_ favorite band. Johnny was trying to do something nice to win her back by surprising her with the tickets. Instead Kitty made him out to look like the bad guy, like he was some womanizer that was always trying to hook up with other women and cheat on her. Most of the school actually bought the story while Kitty shouted at him at the top of her lungs to be certain everyone could hear the topic of the fight. Johnny scowled at the ruse, knowing it was only an excuse to let her save face while she was the one doing the actual cheating in their relationship.

Shaking his head, Johnny pushed those thoughts away. If he kept remembering Kitty, he would only make himself bitterly angry over their breakup. It wasn't doing him any good to dwell on what happened, other than fueling him with anger, which so far was only making him one of the top two students to be avoided at school. The only student with a worse reputation than he was Wulf, and that was only because most of the popular crowd flocked to Skulker like lost puppies seeking a master. He rolled his eyes at the thought of Skulker. Though he never gave the man much attention, even Johnny was aware there was something wrong with Skulker.

Hearing a door slam tore Johnny from his thoughts, and he turned his head toward the house painted white. Abner walked slowly toward him, shy and hesitant like he couldn't believe that Johnny was really there in front of him. Johnny almost snorted out loud at the kid's reaction, still not believing it himself that he was there. It was ridiculous to think that anything would actually come from hanging out with this kid, and Johnny still couldn't explain what drove him to actually call the man. When he finally reached the motorcycle, Abner kept his head bowed as he reached up to push a lock of his dusty blond hair behind an ear.

"Hi." Abner stuttered when he spoke in a soft, shy voice that drew a sigh from the biker.

"It's just going to the mall," Johnny said, reaching back to grab the other helmet he had then thrust it into Abner's arms. "You don't have to be all shy and nervous. It's just a friend thing." Turning back to the front, Johnny rolled his eyes at himself, not able to explain why he was calling it a friend thing when they weren't even friends. But he couldn't think of what else to call it because he certainly wasn't about to call this a date. He was totally interested in women and never once considered being with a man.

Abner bobbed his head once before he put on the helmet, strapping it into place. Another moment of hesitation had Johnny rolling his eyes again before the other man finally climbed onto the motorcycle, sliding into place behind Johnny. His arms snaked around to hug loosely around Johnny's waist, securing that Abner wouldn't fall off during the ride to the mall. His front pressed up against the biker's backside, and Johnny huffed a quick sigh, still wondering what he was thinking with this. After kicking starting the motorcycle, he tore down the street, racing off toward the mall. Abner released a squeak at the sudden burst of speed, his arms squeezing tighter around the man in front of him. Johnny grinned at that reaction, remembering all the times that Kitty would do similarly, before he recalled his anger toward his ex and his grin twisted into a scowl.

The ride to the mall took less than half an hour, and every turn caused Abner to hug Johnny even tighter. Motorcycles didn't seem to be one of Abner's favorite things if his shouts as they passed too closely to cars on the street was any indication. After Johnny parked his motorcycle at the mall, Abner immediately scrambled off it, looking relieved to have solid ground beneath his feet again as he yanked the helmet off his head. His dusty blond hair stuck out in places, and Johnny tried not to laugh at the amusing sight. Biting his lip to keep from snickering, Johnny pulled off his own helmet then combed his fingers through his hair.

"Any ideas where you want to go first?" Johnny asked as they walked together toward the entrance of the mall. He didn't exactly come up with a plan for this when he made the phone call. Scratching at the back of his head, he realized even more how silly this idea was.

Abner tugged nervously at the long sleeves of his black shirt that he wore under a puffy vest zipped all the way up. His hair still stuck up in places as he didn't bother to fix his hair after removing the helmet. "Well," he said hesitantly as they entered the mall. "There's a music store," he chewed on his lip, "somewhere in here. We could look around there."

An eyebrow rose as Johnny looked over the other man. "So you really are interested in learning to play the guitar?" He knew Abner merely suggested it as an excuse to spend time with him, but if the other man really did want to learn, Johnny wouldn't say no to giving him lessons. He started learning the guitar when he was six, though his father liked to say that Johnny could play before he could walk, like he was some sort of guitar prodigy. It was the only thing his father ever showed pride in when it came to Johnny. His father wasn't exactly the greatest role model though. The man drank and smoked far too much, wasting a great sum of their money on his disgusting habits.

"Yes," Abner answered, darting hazel eyes toward Johnny. A light color tinged his cheeks pink as he glanced quickly away again. Johnny resisted the urge to roll his eyes again as Abner acted like a love struck school girl. "At first, I was just saying it because it seemed like a good excuse to get close to you. But I thought about it some more afterward, and I'd really like to give it a try. It'd be fun!"

"You're still one weird kid." Johnny snorted, shaking his head as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his biker jacket. "The music store I like is this way." He led the way, not missing the pout on Abner's face, though whether it was because Johnny called him weird or kid or both, Johnny didn't know. Abner walked along beside him but kept his distance, like he was too afraid to walk too closely to the other man.

Johnny sighed to himself, seeing that the other man simply wasn't relaxing at all. This whole whatever it was, Johnny couldn't think of what to call it, wouldn't go very well with Abner being all nervous and awkward. Kitty was never like that even before they started dating, but they knew each other since they were children. By the time they did start dating, they were so comfortable with each other that there wasn't all that much of an awkward stage except when it came to kissing, in the beginning. Even the shyness of kissing didn't last long, maybe only a month. Shaking his head, Johnny growled internally and tried to force Kitty to stop crawling back into his mind.

But Kitty was a large part of his life for too many years, and Johnny kept being reminded of her with everything around him. Even entering the music store reminded him of Kitty and the first time he brought her there. She pestered him about wanting to take up an instrument, bass guitar she decided, thinking it would be cool. They spent hours in the store that day as she looked at almost every bass guitar the store had then went back over each one at least another three times to decide which one she wanted to buy. Johnny never imagined guitar shopping could be as boring as being dragged along when Kitty wanted to buy new clothes.

"I don't know if I can really afford anything just yet," Abner said as he glanced around at the guitars with uncertainty in his eyes.

"You don't have to buy anything right away." Johnny focused his attention on the various guitars on display in the store. His family wasn't exactly rich, and he had to squirrel away money whenever he wanted to buy a new guitar. Some of his guitars got damaged when his father was around and drunk. Thankfully, the school allowed him to keep his favorite guitar locked up there so he didn't have to lug it around all the time if he planned to practice during lunch. "You can just look at what they have, and if you see something you like, you can ask them to hold it until you get the money to buy it. You can practice on one of mine until you have one of your own."

When Abner didn't respond, Johnny glanced over and saw the other man gazing up at a row of guitars on the wall. Abner's cheeks were painted pink yet again, and Johnny tried not to sigh out loud. The man blushed more than Johnny could recall any of the women he flirted with did. But Abner's blushes were soft and delicate and only grew darker under continued embarrassment.

"Well, I'll let you search around," Johnny announced, deciding it would probably be easier on the man if he was left alone to look. "Let me know if you have questions or anything. I'll just be checking on some things." Catching a quick bob of the man's head, Johnny wandered away as he glanced at the other various wares for sale in the store. He could probably pick up some new strings for his guitars. There were dozens of different picks in multiple styles all with unique designs. He glanced over them, looking to see if any caught his eye.

"Johnny."

At his name, Johnny lifted his head, half expecting to find the dusty blond shifting nervously with a scared look in his eyes about having to ask something. A frown pulled across his face when his green landed on the woman standing before him. She still wore the red jacket and purple scarf that he gave her ages ago. The bright green hair still struck him as strange, and he doubted he would ever get used to seeing it on her.

"What do you want, Kitty?" Johnny turned away, walking to some other part of the store. He ground his teeth when he noticed Kitty followed him.

"Are you going to be angry with me forever?" Kitty pouted as she moved to stand before him.

"I'm not quite sure why you care if I'm angry at you or not." Johnny folded his arms in a show of being closed off. He couldn't understand why after four months Kitty was presenting herself in front of him. "You're the one that made a big show of casting me as the villain. Why don't you just run off to your stupid wannabe singer?"

"I'm not stupid or a wannabe, dipstick," Ember argued, her voice carrying over from behind him.

Johnny turned to shoot a glare at the blue haired woman. "You planned an ambush on me?" Frowning, his gaze swept back to Kitty.

"Not an ambush," Kitty argued, pain in her eyes, like it hurt her that he thought she planned something like that.

"Actually, I was the one that suggested this when I spotted you," Ember said as she folded her arms. "We know how we went about everything was wrong. Kitty was in a relationship with you, and I never should have lured her away to make her cheat on you. But she wasn't happy with you, and I could see that. She wasn't happy because she was realizing she didn't like men as much as she thought she did."

"Oh," Johnny sneered at her, "so it's okay to cheat if the person is discovering they're gay?"

"I know I shouldn't have cheated!" Kitty tugged Johnny to face her, and she still wore the pout that used to make him break and bend to her will. But Johnny refused to give in like he used to when they were dating. "I just didn't know how to talk to you about it. How do you tell your boyfriend you think you might be gay?"

"I would have rather you just told me instead of sneaking around behind my back," Johnny spat at her in anger. "Instead you had to fabricate some stupid argument just to break it off with me? If you wanted out of the relationship, you should have just told me. Do you really think I'm such an ass that I wouldn't have let you leave me or something? God, Kitty! I loved you, but I would have understood if you weren't attracted to me anymore."

Kitty hung her head with a miserable expression on her face. "I was just so confused at the time. I was supposed to be in love with you, but I was feeling things for other women around me, and I thought it was wrong. I thought there was something wrong with me. Then Ember came in, and it was like suddenly everything made sense to me again. And I just didn't know what to do about telling you."

"Look. I doubt we can apologize to you enough times to make things right. But can you maybe try to forgive us? Or at least not be angry at us for forever?" Ember smiled hopefully at him.

Johnny glanced between the two women then threaded his fingers through his hair as he sighed. He didn't expect to have an encounter like this with his ex and her new girlfriend. "I'm not happy with the way you two acted. And seriously, Kitty," he turned to her, "I never wanted you to feel like you _had_ to love me. I would have been much happier if you simply said you weren't in love with me anymore. Go, be happy. You both have my blessing."

Kitty's arms wrapped around him, practically choking him as she squeezed him tightly. With a roll of his eyes, Johnny patted her on the back until Kitty finally released him. Ember only gave him a fist bump to the shoulder. Johnny shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, feeling awkward standing around with them now. He didn't know what to do after all was said and done. Though he was still angry with the way things happened, he felt somewhat glad that the two women decided to make apologies to him. He would be even angrier if they continued acting like they weren't in the wrong in any way.

"Um." The voice made Johnny turn around to find Abner glancing among the three of them with a frown upon his face.

"Who's the kid?" Ember asked, drawing a glare from Abner.

"I'm teaching him to play guitar," Johnny explained. "We were just checking out guitars for when he wants to buy one."

"We should all have lunch," Kitty suggested with excitement in her voice, and Johnny groaned mentally. The encounter with his ex was unexpected, but having lunch with the couple didn't sound fun to him.

"And you can tell us all about your new cutie," Ember said with a mischievous smirk. Johnny started to protest to both the idea and the fact that Abner wasn't his anything, but the two women grabbed hold of them, dragging them out of the music store. "And we'll even pay for it."

"I'm really sorry about this," Johnny mumbled to Abner. If he knew this was how the day would turn out, he wouldn't have invited Abner out to the mall. But Abner merely shook his head, shrugging like it didn't bother him. Johnny realized maybe having other people join them might take off some of the pressure for the other man, giving him the chance to be more relaxed.

When they arrived at the food court, Kitty and Ember went off to buy their lunch, leaving Johnny with Abner to secure a table for them to share. The court was filled with people sharing similar thoughts of grabbing a bite to eat at this time, but a few tables remained open. Johnny led the way over to one of them and snagged it before another couple making their way over could reach it. He smirked in victory as the pair scowled at him, turning to search out another table. Dropping into one of the chairs, Johnny turned his gaze back to Abner as the man joined him at the table.

"If you really wanted, we could just ditch them," Johnny said, knowing this probably wasn't exactly the way the other man saw today going.

Abner shook his head again, dusty blond hair flopping about and slipping forward to hang in his face. "It's fine." His hazel gaze was lowered as he played with the sleeves of his shirt.

Johnny leaned on the table as he stared at the other man. "You seemed a lot more talkative back in the music room."

"I didn't really expect you to call," Abner admitted with a weak laugh as he flicked his gaze toward Johnny. "And now that I'm here sitting with you," he shrugged, gesturing awkwardly with his arms, "I don't know what to say."

Johnny sighed because this was exactly the problem with the whole crushing from afar for two years thing. "Did you see a guitar you might like?" He glanced around the food court and caught Ember and Kitty walking over to them carrying a pizza and sodas for them all. They were laughing about something, which made Johnny narrow his eyes at them.

"Maybe, but it'll be a long time before I can afford it." A look passed through Abner's eyes that Johnny couldn't quite identify.

"Like I said, you can just borrow one of my guitars to practice on."

"So when did you two meet?" Ember asked as she sat down next to Abner and Kitty took the open seat next to Johnny.

Abner glanced at Johnny. "Ah, well, I guess only just this week."

"And already on a date?" Ember smirked at Johnny as she sipped from the straw in her soda.

"It's not a date," Johnny grumbled, serving up a slice of pizza for himself. "And stop smirking like that." He glowered at her as his thoughts turned over her question about when they met. It was true they didn't actually share words with each other until the day Abner came to the music room, but that didn't mean they never saw each other before that. He spotted Abner before during school, though he never gave much more than a passing glance at the man. They ran in different social circles, but as he thought about it, he recalled seeing Abner everyday when he arrived at his chemistry class. Now he understood why Abner always lingered behind after his first period of the day.

Frowning, Johnny stared at the other man as he chewed on a bite of his pizza. It was around the beginning of the year that things started going wonky for him. Other than losing his girlfriend, Johnny noticed mishaps seemed to happen around him a lot, like that one time when he was grabbing a drink from the water fountain at school and the darn thing somehow ended up spraying him in the crotch. Then there was another time when he was walking down the school hallway and a bucket of paint fell on him. Things like that were happening far too often to him nowadays.

"It certainly looks like a date to me." Ember nudged at Kitty. "Doesn't it look like a date?"

"Well, with the way his new cutie keeps blushing every time you look his way, I'd wager to guess someone wants this to be a date." Kitty grinned widely at Johnny. "And you know, there's nothing wrong if you're into guys now."

"It's just a friend thing," Abner said, picking the bits of green pepper off his slice of pizza. "Johnny's not into guys."

"Ow!" Johnny yelped when he got kicked under the table. Rubbing at his shin, he glared at Ember. "What was that for, you damn pyro?"

"Because he," Ember held out a hand toward Abner, "clearly likes you, and you're being a jerk."

"I can't help it if I'm not interested in guys," Johnny argued, but he felt bad seeing the hurt that flashed briefly in Abner's eyes. Even if he claimed he was fine being just friends, it was clear Abner hoped for more. Unfortunately, Johnny didn't think he could give the man what he wanted. He yelped again when, this time, Kitty kicked at him with an angry look on her face. "Will you all stop kicking me?"

"Why are you leading him on then?" Kitty folded her arms on the table as she glared darkly at him. "It's mean to toy with someone's heart."

"I'm not-"

"I was the one that insisted we try to be friends." Abner stared at his pizza like it was incredibly fascinating to avoid facing the eyes now focused on him.

"Hey," Johnny argued when he caught the looks on Kitty and Ember's faces. "You two didn't just magically happen, you know. You two started hanging out for a while _before_ you started actually cheating on me." His eyes narrowed at Kitty. "You don't honestly think I'll just automatically fall in love with the first person that says he likes me, do you? I didn't even know anything about this kid when he first came to talk to me." He ignored the frustrated glare that Abner sent at being called kid yet again.

Ember smirked like she achieved some sort of victory. "So then you're not completely ruling out the idea of being with a guy." Her green eyes drifted toward Abner, who was nibbling at his pizza. "Otherwise, you would never have agreed to hang out with him. Lie to yourself as much as you like, but you're more interested in him than you think."

"Can we move on?" Anger flashed through Johnny's eyes as his mouth thinned. He wasn't even sure why he was getting mad. Whether it was because his ex and her girlfriend seemed to enjoy teasing him about it or because maybe there might be some truth in their comments, he couldn't decide. He only knew he wanted to get away from the topic.

When Ember and Kitty started chatting about fashion, Abner joined in, finally seeming to break out of his shell of shyness. Johnny left them to it, not having anything to contribute on that topic, and focused on the pizza before him. Mostly focused on it anyway. His attention kept drifting to the man at his side, like when Kitty decided she couldn't take it any longer and got up to help smooth down the wild locks of dusty blond that were sticking up all over the place. Abner blushed horribly as it sunk in that his hair looked like a mess the entire time after they arrived at the mall. Johnny held back a laugh, especially when both women looked like they were ready to kick him again.

After they finished their lunch, Kitty gave Johnny another tight hug before she left with Ember. "Ugh, exes," Johnny groaned as he walked away from the food court with Abner.

"I didn't realize you were on such good terms with your ex." Abner rubbed awkwardly at one arm, falling back to his shyness from earlier.

"We weren't." Johnny frowned at that then shook his head. "But apparently they want to make up for all the shit they put me through with the breakup." He shrugged, not really wanting to think too much more on it. It was done and over with, and he simply wanted to move on now.

"Oh." Abner hugged his arms around his waist as he glanced around the mall. "Well, I had a pretty good time today." A smile tried to twitch upon his lips, but worry was in his eyes, like he expected Johnny to say he hated being around him.

"Awkward encounter with ex girlfriend aside," Johnny hunched up his shoulders, "it was all right." Seeing the way Abner's face fell, Johnny sighed. "I'm just not used to this sort of thing." He turned to face the other man as he walked. "I've pretty much only ever been with Kitty, and we knew each other for years so we fit well together."

"I know. I get it." A sad smile passed over Abner's face. "I just - Look-" He cringed as Johnny walked backward until his legs hit the rim of the fountain in the center of the mall. Arms flailing to maintain his balance, Johnny snagged hold of the other man, dragging him down too as he fell into the fountain with a big splash. "Out," Abner finished his warning after spitting out a mouthful of water.

Johnny shook his head, spraying out droplets of water as he leaned on his arms. "And bad luck strikes again," he grumbled as he sat there soaking wet with Abner half laying on him.

Abner snorted at his comment. "It could be worse." He leaned back, sitting on one of Johnny's legs.

"And what exactly do you mean by-"

A cough interrupted Johnny's question, and they both turned to see one of the mall cops standing in front of the fountain. The cop glared down at the pair with a menacing look in his eyes.

"I guess we should get out of here." Johnny dragged Abner to his feet as he stood. They climbed out of the fountain, dripping water all over the tiled flooring, which only angered the cop more. With a wide grin, Johnny grabbed hold of Abner's hand as he took off running away from the cop, who yelled at them for making a mess in the mall. Abner slipped and stumbled behind him, but he was laughing as he tried to keep up with Johnny.


	20. Chapter 20

"Danny." The whisper of his name seemed close to his ear as the feel of sharp claws traced down the length of his pale throat. Danny turned his head away ready to scream out, but his voice failed him, a pressuring growing inside his chest that squeezed out all the air in his lungs. He couldn't breathe, and every attempt to gasp for air hurt as his lungs burned. Something covered his mouth and nose, but he couldn't seem to pull it away despite clawing at the suffocating pressure. The bronze eyes that haunted him shifted, bleeding red as laughter echoed all around him in the darkness. He needed to escape, but he couldn't move, pinned down under an oppressive weight. There didn't seem to be anywhere to run in this dark place either.

A ringing cut through the laughter as something vibrated against his side. Danny's brow creased in confusion, mind scrambling to understand what was happening. His eyes cracked opened, squinting at the brightness shining through the open curtains of the room. An unfamiliar room, Danny realized as he glanced around and took in his surroundings. Another nightmare explained what he was seeing before, and it left him shaken and drained. Never before in the nightmares did his attackers call him by name. He couldn't explain why, but he felt that was a bad sign.

Danny sat up in the bed, running a hand over his tired face. The bedroom he woke in was neatly decorated with nice navy sheets on the bed and the walls painted a pale blue. There was a dresser with a mirror hanging over it pressed to one side, and a painting of a beach landscape hung over the head of the bed. On the nightstand beside the bed was a vase with fresh cut flowers that filled the room with a floral aroma. It was nice and cozy, but it felt strange waking up in Lancer's guest bedroom.

Another buzzing vibration against his hip reminded Danny of what woke him from his nightmare. Reaching into his jeans pocket, which he forgot to remove when he collapsed into the bed, he pulled out his cell phone and checked through all the missed messages. After spilling everything to Lancer then starting with a little training, Danny didn't feel much like answering his phone when it kept ringing and buzzing. He was too exhausted to walk home last night and decided to crash at Lancer's house despite his teacher's offer to drive him home. Danny didn't want to explain to his parents why his teacher was bring him home close to midnight. They probably wouldn't even notice that he didn't come home last night.

A frown pulled over his face as Danny read through the more than a dozen messages from Dash all demanding to know where he was. Paulina also sent a number of messages, begging for him to respond. Danny even received a message from Desiree hoping he was all right. Rubbing at his forehead, he realized he probably left them all worried when he bolted out of Dash's house like that, and they were probably all still freaking out since Danny never responded to them. Guilt settled over him as Danny frowned at the messages. He never meant to make them all worry about him, but at that time, he simply needed to get away before his panic overcame him. He knew he had to tell them something, explain why he ran away like that, but he was still scared to tell the truth, not simply because of the rape but also because he died. He still didn't know what that made him. A living corpse? Not even Lancer could give him an exact answer for what he was.

Heaving a sigh, Danny scrolled up to the latest text message. When he saw who sent it, a wide smile spread over his face, blue eyes lighting up with happiness.

_At your house. Where r u? - S.M_.

Shaking his head, Danny typed out a quick message to her, letting Sam know that he would be on his way home. Once that was done, he sent a message to Dash, letting the blond man know he was all right and asking him to meet at his house. As terrified as he was to tell Dash the truth, Danny knew it had to be done. Climbing out of the bed, Danny tried to at least make the sheets look as neat as possible. He wasn't exactly great with making the bed, his own bed usually being left in a messy tangle of sheets. After toeing into his shoes, Danny left the guest bedroom and headed down the stairs.

The smell of sizzling bacon cooking reached him as he hit the bottom of the stairs, and his stomach gave a growl. A quick breakfast before heading home wouldn't hurt anything, he reasoned as he walked through the dark room toward the kitchen. Lancer was already serving up scrambled eggs onto plates that he set on the table. Only a single lamp overhead gave the room any light as the curtains were drawn shut in this room as well. Danny almost happily skipped over to the table, ready to dig into breakfast when he jerked to a halt. Sitting at the kitchen table with a mug in one hand and a newspaper in the other was none other than his principal, Mr. Masters. Danny gulped, turning worried eyes upon his teacher.

"Ah, you're awake, Daniel." Lancer smiled pleasantly before turning back to the stove to retrieve the bacon. "I hope you're hungry."

"I hope you don't mind if we discuss some things while you eat," Masters said as he folded up the newspaper then dropped it on the table. "Please. Seat." He gestured to one of the open seats with his mug before he lifted it to his mouth and took a sip from it.

Nervous and uncertain, Danny crossed the kitchen and slipped into one of the seats. His appetite left him the moment he spotted his principal, and he couldn't seem to make himself eat anything while he watched the silver haired man across from him. "I thought," Danny paused, his tongue peeking out as he licked his lips, "you said I could trust you." He glanced toward Lancer. "I thought I could confide in you without you telling anyone."

"Daniel, I didn't tell him everything." Lancer scooped out three strips of bacon and laid them on Danny's plate. "But you're not a normal human, and that part I _had_ to tell Vlad about."

"You see, Daniel," Masters said, folding his arms on the table as he stared at Danny with those piercing blue eyes that made the young man shiver. "Casper High, as you've probably figured out already, is not your average high school. Amity Park is one of many places all around the world where the supernatural gather naturally. There are a variety of different species living in this town, hidden among humans and finding a sort of co-existence with humans. Some humans are aware of the supernatural living alongside them while many others remain ignorant. Casper High was set up as a safe haven for the children of supernatural beings to live and learn like humans without the fear and loneliness that comes with thinking you're alone in having to hide who you truly are. And I, as the principal, am bound to the duty of protecting my students. Naturally after learning of what you are, Lancer was required to inform me about it, as I am required to be here now to speak to you."

"Speak to me about what?" Danny's nervousness about this whole confrontation didn't lessen. He picked up one of the strips of bacon and bit into it, mouth watering at the deliciousness of it.

"Your hand." Masters held out his right hand, and for a moment, Danny could only stare at it. When Masters' expression grew to annoyed, Danny quickly placed his right hand into the one held out toward him. An eyebrow quirked upward, but Masters made no comment about Danny's skin. "Do you promise not to use your supernatural abilities to harm another student under my watch?"

"Of course I'm not going to hurt someone!" Danny gasped, shocked that his principal was even asking that.

"It's part of the oath," Lancer explained as he placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "All the supernatural beings, even the alien, have to take this oath when they enter Casper High. We didn't have you do this earlier because we couldn't determine what exactly you were. Many believed you were still merely human."

"Oh," Danny mumbled numbly. He turned back to Masters and fixed his gaze upon the man. "I promise not to hurt another student."

"Do you promise to keep the secrets of this town and not tell those that may bring harm or destruction to our town?" Masters' hold was firm but oddly gentle, and Danny could feel some sort of power flowing between their hands.

"I promise." Danny would have kept silent without even being asked. Over the years, he got pretty good at keeping secrets, especially from his parents.

"Do you promise to ensure the safety of your fellow students should something threaten their lives if you are able to?" Masters' eyes narrowed in a manner that made Danny suspect the man knew something about what was happening with Kwan.

"I promise." Danny winced as something prickled at the skin of his palm. After a moment, Masters released his hand, and Danny was free to pull it away.

"With that, should any harm befall you or should you harm another student, I will know about it." Masters picked up his mug to sip from it, eyes turning to the newspaper before him.

Danny stared at his hand for a moment, frowning at it. Then he lifted his gaze to Masters and noted the redness upon his lips after he finished drinking from the mug. "You're a vampire."

"Hm, he is sharp after all." Masters hardly sounded impressed.

"But the sun's up. How did you get here?" Danny blinked owlishly at his principal.

Masters turned his gaze to Danny, and an eyebrow lifted in an expression that said he couldn't believe Danny asked that. "I came before the sun rose. Most times, I keep to the school, but every once and a while, I like to go out at night. Cabin fever sets in after a while of being cooped up in the same place for too long. Lancer contacted to me hours ago, giving me plenty of time to arrive here before the sun rose."

Danny bowed his head as he poked at his eggs, realizing that he should have guessed that. "Is that oath why Skulker hasn't been able to do anything to Kwan?" He glanced between the two men.

"He couldn't enter the school without taking the oath," Masters explained, frowning down at the newspaper. "And it was part of his punishment to be watched over in our school. At that time, Skulker hadn't met Kwan, so he didn't realize the hindrance of the oath until later. Any harm he does to Kwan would violate the oath and give reason for him to receive harsher punishment. But since he hasn't broken the oath, we aren't able to actually do anything against him. He's biding his time until graduation when the oath and my protection no longer apply. Then he'll be free to do as he like to Kwan without risk of punishment."

"So he gets to harass Kwan on a technicality?" Danny gaped at them.

"Trust me. We're not exactly pleased with this either." Lancer wore a grave expression, anger burning in his eyes.

"Do you have any idea what exactly he wants with Kwan?"

"Beyond taking Kwan with him when he leaves this planet, we don't know his exact interest in Kwan." Masters looked as angry about the situation as Lancer. Danny felt relief that the faculty at Casper High weren't completely ignoring what was happening between Skulker and Kwan. "I'm sure Clockwork knows, but he's keeping silent about everything."

"Knowledge is a terrible burden," Lancer said tiredly. "You can't be angry at him for not telling you what he's not allowed to tell."

"It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it though." Masters glowered at Lancer.

Danny could only scratch his head in confusion, not knowing who this Clockwork person was. "There's another problem," he said, shrinking in his seat when the two men turned their attention onto him. "Skulker also has Desiree's lamp. Paulina told us about it, and she wants to figure out a way to get the lamp back."

"That explains some things," Masters mumbled, stroking his chin in thought. "I thought it strange that she would attach herself to him. She's not one to align herself with a man. Not after the way she's been treated at their hands."

"She doesn't have a choice." Danny frowned, hoping Masters' comment didn't mean what he thought it did, though he suspected his guess was right. "Skulker wished for complete obedience from Kwan, but the wish rebounded for some reason, and now Desiree is forced to do everything Skulker wants."

"That damn genie impulse to grant wishes." Masters slammed down a fist on the table in his anger. He turned to Lancer as his mouth pursed into a thin line, fury raging in his eyes. "Do you think you can summon the lamp from wherever Skulker is holding it?"

"It's possible, but I've never seen her lamp. Without something to visualize in my mind, I can't summon it here." Lancer tapped on Danny's plate with his fork. "Eat before it gets cold."

Masters stood and left the room. As he shoveled the eggs into his mouth, Danny realized why all the curtains were drawn shut on the first floor: to allow Masters to move freely without risk of being burned by the sun. He was finishing up his breakfast when Masters returned with a laptop. The principal set the laptop down and opened it, quickly accessing a file upon it. When he had what he wanted, he turned the laptop around to face Lancer.

"Is this enough to allow you to summon it?" Masters demanded as Danny and Lancer both leaned forward to look at the images displayed on the laptop. Lancer scrolled through the images of the genie's lamp: a tall golden bottle decorated with rubies. The pictures showed the bottle from every available angle.

"Yes, this should be enough for me to work a summoning spell." Lancer stood and walked over to his cabinets, searching for the various items that he would need to cast a summoning spell.

"You have pictures of Desiree's lamp on your laptop?" Danny raised an eyebrow at Masters as he frowned at the principal. "What else do you have on your students?"

"I took them as a precaution," Masters explained. "I like to be prepared for when unexpected situation arise, such as this one. Summoning a lamp shouldn't be too difficult for Lancer. I promised Desiree that she would have full control over her lamp when she arrived here. I don't plan on breaking that promise because of some blasted alien." Danny blinked, impressed by Masters' desire to protect and help his students.

Lancer sat down at the table again as he made space before him. Taking a bit of chalk, he drew a design upon the surface of the table, a magic circle with runes that Danny vaguely recognized from the different books about the supernatural that he read. He placed jewels at the points of the triangle within the circle then sprinkled some kind of powder over the circle.

"I'll need silence to concentrate." Lancer snapped his stern gaze at both men seated at the table, the type of glare he gave students that immediately silenced them. Taking a deep breath, Lancer closed his eyes with his hands placed over the magic circle as he concentrated on the spell to summon the lamp.

The chalk markings glowed softly with a white light, and Danny held his breath as he watched Lancer. It wasn't his first time witnessing a witch performing magic, but when Sam did it, things tended to go wonky with the spell, like the time she tried to call up an orb of light and set fire to a tree in the park. Danny's mouth gaped open as the lamp flickered into appearance, looking like a transparent hologram of what he saw on Masters' laptop. Lancer's brow creased, his expression pinching with concentration as the air around him seemed to spark with static. A sudden bang made Danny jump, nearly toppling out of his seat as smoke billowed from the magic circle.

"He thought he could keep it from me." Lancer smirked, waving a hand to fan out the smoke clouding the golden bottle sitting in the middle of the magic circle. "But his defenses weren't strong enough to keep me out."

"Excellent," Masters said as he picked up the lamp to inspect it. "I think I shall keep hold of this for the time being."

Danny sighed with relief, happy that Desiree's lamp would be safe from Skulker. He was sure Paulina would be very happy to know that Desiree's lamp was no long in Skulker's possession. But at that thought, Danny remembered his other friends and the fact that they would all be waiting at his house for him. "I've got to go!" Danny announced as he jumped to his feet. He hesitated, glancing between teacher and principal and worrying about being rude to them.

"It's winter break, Daniel," Lancer said as he sat back in his chair. "I wouldn't expect you to want to hang around with us all day. We can continue with your training another day. I'm sure you have friends you wish to speak with." He wore a knowing smirk, like he suspected Danny planned to run off and tell Dash the truth.

"Yes, and we," Masters smirked at Lancer, "have plans of our own that don't include you." His eyes snapped toward Danny, narrowing ever so slightly.

Danny blinked a few times at that, scrambling to regain his thoughts. "Uh, I'll see later then," he said awkwardly, and not knowing what else to do, he jogged out of the kitchen toward the front door, wanting to get away from the uncomfortable situation. It was already weird waking up in his teacher's house without having to deal with his principal as well, or that strange look that passed between them that he decided was to be filed away under things he would never ask about.

Danny hurried to his house, not wanting to annoy his friends any further than he already had. He ended up spending more time at Lancer's house than he meant to, way more time. Some exhaustion still clung to him after the draining day that yesterday ended up being, and he yawned widely as he jogged back to his house. The morning was chilly, and his breath appeared in small puffs of white. With the gray sky overhead, Danny hoped it wouldn't start snowing anytime soon, though they were off school for the winter break starting yesterday.

When he arrived home, Danny didn't find any of his friends waiting on the doorstep for him. Hesitantly, he entered the house and peeked into the front where he found his parents, arms folded, glaring down at the gathered group of friends. He groaned mentally at the fact that he probably wasn't getting off the hook for being out all night unless he quickly thought up an excuse to explain his whereabouts. He had to think fast because it wouldn't be long before-

"Where have you been, Daniel?" demanded his mother the moment her angry gaze landed upon him.

Danny cringed, wondering why his parents couldn't simply ignore that little fact like usual. He caught guilty looks from Sam and Tucker, who probably didn't intend to get Danny in trouble when they showed up at his house early that morning. "I was," Danny panicked for a moment to think of an excuse that didn't involve sleeping at his teacher's house, "jogging. I do that every morning. Didn't you know?" He managed to look shocked and disappointed that his parents didn't know something about him, though there was a lot that they didn't know, and he planned to keep it that way.

"You do?" Jack asked baffled by that announcement. "I mean, of course you do!" He laughed, big and booming. "I knew that. Every morning. Yup." He placed a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "I told you there was nothing to worry about." He pushed Maddie along toward the hallway off the front room. When they reached Danny, Jack paused. "We'll be out most of the day and tomorrow. The solstice is tomorrow night, and there's bound to be a gathering of the supernatural. You're to be in this house by curfew." He gave his usual "dad glare" to indicate he meant business.

"Right. Of course," Danny agreed immediately, and satisfied with that response, his parents headed for the basement to get ready for their usual supernatural hunting. "Sorry about all that," he said awkwardly as he walked into the front room. "I, uh," he rubbed at the back of his neck as he glanced from Tucker and Sam to Dash, Paulina, and Desiree. He didn't expect Dash to bring the other two women as well. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do."

"It would be nice," Paulina said, frowning with her arms folded. "After running out on us yesterday. Do you know how worried we were?"

Danny sighed, body deflating as his shoulders slumped. "I know. I panicked." He tossed a glance back toward the hallway. "Let's talk about this somewhere else though. I don't want my parents overhearing anything, and I'm sure you can understand why." Tucker was pretty much the only one present that didn't have anything to hide from a pair of hunters.

"My mom is busy working. We can go to my place," Dash offered as he stood, and the others followed suit as they all headed out the door. "I don't know that we can all fit into my car though." He looked over the group with a frown. His car could comfortably fit five, but their group numbed six.

"Paulina can sit in my lap," Desiree offered, snaking her arms around the other woman as she smiled teasingly.

"Dude," Tucker whispered as he leaned toward Danny while Sam rolled her eyes at the display.

Grinning, Danny turned toward Tucker. "You should have been here yesterday. There was kissing." He laughed as Tucker groaned in disappointment that he missed it.

"Okay, okay. Everyone in the car," Dash ordered, yanking open the driver's side door. They piled in with Danny in the passenger's side seat while everyone else crammed into the back, Paulina blushing darkly as Desiree dragged her into her lap.

"Uh, so I guess introductions should be made," Danny said awkwardly as they drove away from his house. He glanced around at the carful of people. "Unless you all did that already?"

"Well, your parents were very insistent on getting all our names," Paulina said, "and so they," she pointed at Sam and Tucker, "decided it was only fair to introduce themselves to us."

"Oh. Everyone knows everyone then. That's good." Danny nodded as he turned back around in his seat.

"I doubt your parents are going to interrupt us in here, so," Dash flicked his gaze toward Danny. "Care to explain where you went after running out of my house yesterday?"

Sighing, Danny slumped down in the seat. "I went to talk with Lancer about, well, everything."

"Whoa! Seriously?" Tucker gasped, shocked that Danny was finally talking about what happened to him.

"Well, I obviously can't keep going the way I have been," Danny grumbled and raked a hand through his hair. "Though I don't think I'm really ready to start blabbing it all out to everyone. Talking to Lancer didn't magically fix what's wrong with me, but it's at least a start. I need to work through this or I'm just going to be that crazy lonely guy all my life. Or something."

"So if you're not going to tell us what exactly happened to you, can we talk about the freaky thing you did yesterday?" Desiree inquired.

Sitting up again, Danny twisted around in his seat to give her a confused look. "What freaky thing? There was something other than my total freak out?"

"What exactly went on yesterday?" Sam asked, looking as confused about the conversation as Tucker.

"We were practicing for a play, and Dash was going to show Danny how to do the dance when Danny freaked out about being touched and ran out of the house," Paulina explained, gaining understanding nods from Tucker and Sam.

"But back to the freaky thing," Desiree cut in as she openly gawked at Danny. "You're eyes were glowing! They were green! And the whole room turned, like, several degrees colder. It was like those stories you hear about when a ghost is present and room just gets colder around them."

Danny paled, gulping when he heard that. He shot a look to Sam and Tucker, but they merely shrugged and shook their heads. They never saw him suddenly having glowing green eyes.

"And you're aura," Paulina added, and Danny felt like he was slowly falling back into that dark place again. Paulina leaned forward, her emerald eyes roving up and down his body. "It got really dark in that moment, and there's still some of that darkness lingering here and there." She worried her lower lip as she stared at something only she could see.

"And what exactly is she talking about?" Sam asked, pointing a finger at Paulina. She didn't look happy about sharing a car with either Paulina or Desiree.

"Oh, I see auras," Paulina explained with a bright smile at Sam. "It lets me figure out who people will match up best with. Like Dash and Danny, they have this whole melding thing going on with their auras right now." Paulina tapped her chin as she stared at Sam. Danny wanted to bury his burning face in his hands at that moment. "I could probably find someone for you."

"Oh god, Danny, make it stop," Sam begged, pressing against the car door like she was about to jump out while the car was still moving.

"Paulina's not that bad, Sam." Danny frowned at his friend, though he knew how much she hated the "popular" crowd at school. "Paulina is actually really nice. Nothing like the asses back at our school." Sam didn't look all that convinced.

"So you don't have any explanation for the whole glowing eyes and colder room thing?" Dash asked as he parked his car in front of his house.

"I might have an idea on that one." Danny cringed away as three pairs of eyes landed on him. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he had to tell them. "I maybe died once." He kept his eyes staring straight ahead, not wanting to see their reaction to that news.

"Well, he's not a vampire, or he would have exploded in flames by now," Desiree said with a curious note in her voice.

"If he were a zombie, he'd be trying to eat our brains or something," Paulina added.

"I still haven't found out anything about those spells," Sam grumbled, frowning at her inability to figure out something that had to do with magic and the supernatural.

"I don't know what I am!" Danny shouted, frustrated with that one simple fact. "Sam brought me back from being dead with magic, and now I'm some weird, unique _thing_." He grabbed hold of Dash's hand with his bare skin as he stared up into the widened blue eyes of the other man. "I have strange abilities, and I don't even know all of what I can do, and I was too scared to tell you all this before because-" Danny lowered his sad gaze. "Because I didn't know how you would react to the fact that I was dead."

"Holy crap, your hand is like ice!" Dash shouted in surprise. He took Danny's hand, running his thumb over the smooth, pale skin that felt cold to the touch. Paulina and Desiree both leaned forward to feel Danny's skin as well.

Danny could only blink at the trio as they marveled at the icy feel of his flesh. "Why aren't you guys more freaked out about the fact that I died?"

"Oh trust me. There's freaking out over that," Paulina assured him. "But hey, our principal's a vampire, so it's not like we're completely new to the idea of people reviving from the dead."

"Great," Danny grumbled. "So I was freaking out over nothing?"

"This is so weird that you can just talk to them about this stuff," Tucker said. "It took months for us to get you to start talking about the supernatural stuff."

"Yeah, well that harpy didn't exactly leave me with a lot of room to keep pretending like I didn't know anything." Danny sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. The whole thing could have gone a lot worse, but he was happy that Lancer was right about his friends not abandoning him.

"I've got snacks inside," Dash pointed out as he opened his door. Realizing it was silly to keep sitting in the car, they all climbed out and headed to the front door of Dash's house.

Danny hung back and caught Desiree's hand. She released a little gasp when his cold hand touched her skin. "Masters has your lamp," he told her quietly since she would probably want to know.

"What?" Desiree stared in shock, like she could fathom the meaning of his words.

"I had to do that whole oath thing, and I mentioned that Skulker had your lamp," Danny explained, biting the inside of his cheek as he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said something like that to their principal. "He had Lancer summon it to him, and now he's hanging onto it for safe keeping."

Desiree didn't react at first, unable to fully process his words. Then she threw her arms around him, drawing him into a tight embrace. "Oh, thank you, Danny! You don't know what this means to me! I know Masters will take good care of it." She skipped into the house after Paulina, and Danny assumed it was to tell the other woman the good news.

When he caught Dash staring at him, Danny bowed his head as he shuffled into the house after everyone else. "Just so you know," he said once he was inside and the door shut, "if we start a relationship, things are going to have to go slow. I might freak out with too much touching or being touched a certain way, and I don't think I'm quite ready for kissing. But I think I need to start trying or I'm never going to get over what happened to me."

Dash rolled his eyes. "I was always prepared to go as slow as you wanted." He dropped a hand on Danny's head and ruffled his raven locks. "If I wasn't, do you think I would have held back this long on making a move?" He smirked at the light blush rising to Danny's cheeks.

"So," Danny stuttered out as they joined the rest of the group in the front room. "Who knows anything about the winter solstice?" He sat down in one of the chairs, listening to everyone talk about what they knew on the subject. His parents were up to something for tomorrow night, and Danny planned to figure out what it was and stop them if it meant innocent people potentially getting hurt. After getting snacks and drinks for everyone, Dash returned to the front room. He slid onto the chair where Danny sat, pulling the smaller man into his lap. Danny's first instinct was panic at being held, but he forced the feeling down as best he could and tried to relax against Dash. He wasn't going to let the rape rule over him for the rest of his life. He needed to let himself be held without having panic attacks because he really wanted to make things work with Dash.


	21. Chapter 21

For the past few days, his mood steadily grew fouler. Ever since that blasted Cogsworth switched Kwan's seat with that nuisance of a new student, Skulker had little chance to approach his prey. At every turn, one of them seemed to be at the man's side, acting as a shield to keep Kwan safe from him. His jaw clenched with frustration as he paced around the cruddy apartment that he was forced to live in with the irritating skeletal being known as Warden Walker, who the royal family of Necravion assigned as his watcher while living out his sentence on this backwater planet.

Of all the places they could have sent him, they had to choose the most pathetic planet in the known universe. He knew the reason for their choice, of course. Skulker was known as a great hunter among many galaxies, his reputation spread wide as one that collects rare and unique trophies to add to his growing collection. Earth wasn't known for being the home of anything that would fit into his collection. At least, that was what the royal family thought. A cruel smirk spread across his face as he recalled his encounter with Kwan.

Unfortunately, that pesky little oath required of him upon his arrival in this wretched place prevented him actually acquiring the man at this moment. Skulker still had until the end of year at that useless Earth establishment known as a high school. It was amazing how primitive the people of this planet were with their pathetically slow advancements in all fields. He couldn't wait for the day when his sentence would finally be up, and he would be free to finally return to his home on Cyonetic. Once graduation took place and the protection of the oath ended, Skulker would finally be able to snare his prey to take with him when he left this wasted planet. After that, there would be nothing that any of these useless life forms could do to recover Kwan. Skulker wouldn't be breaking any laws after all.

But now a few problems arose with his hunt. Skulker halted in his pacing to hold out an arm directed at the television set in the room, a useless invention by such feeble minded beings. The flesh of his arm turned metallic, shifting and altering until his hand down to his elbow became a plasma ray gun. His green eyes narrowed at the television as he fired a blast at the machine. The green plasma beam struck the television, bursting the glass screen as the television fell off the stand and crashed to the floor. The minor act of destruction did little to help lessen his frustration.

That new kid Danny wouldn't be much of a problem. He had no abilities that would make fighting him even worth Skulker's time. Dash could be a problem depending on how well he could use that blasted telepathy. Skulker always had to be careful of the thoughts he let slip while in range of that blond block head. So far, at least, Dash never seemed to try messing around in Skulker's head, but that could be because of the oath. If he used his power to hurt Skulker, Dash would only get himself in trouble with the council. The oath of protection put them all at a stalemate.

Paulina was as much a threat as Danny without an active power. Reading auras and match making weren't exactly the greatest of abilities when it came to fighting. Skulker snorted at how pathetic some of these humans were. Desiree would be a formidable opponent under the right master making wishes to thwart Skulker's attempts to capture Kwan. Skulker smirked, knowing that the genie wouldn't be able to stand up against him, not when she was forced to obey his commands and he possessed ownership of her lamp. He had the lamp locked up tight and protected from any potential attempts to steal it back. No one would be able to break through his defenses. The only real threat in the group would be Wulf. Now that the werewolf was acting like some sort of guard dog for Kwan, Skulker might actually have a difficult time ensnaring his chosen prey.

Skulker paced around the room again, devising some sort of plan that might eliminate Wulf as a threat. But until graduation, he wouldn't be able to do anything to physically hurt the werewolf without violating the oath. Growling in frustration, he needed to think of a way around the cursed oath that seemed to block him at every turn as he thought of ways to rid himself of obstacles. That damn vampire would know the moment any harm befell the werewolf, and if Skulker attacked anyone, Masters would know about it. But there had to be some avenue around the oath to take out Wulf without any blame being placed on Skulker. He simply needed to puzzle out the answer.

Pacing around the room for several more minutes, Skulker reviewed what he learned about the werewolf. Silver and wolf's bane acted like poisons to them, but Skulker couldn't use those means without it coming back to him. He needed a method that didn't involve him participating in the actual deed. Tapping his chin in thought, he focused on what he knew specifically about Wulf. Nearly everyone in Amity Park knew that Wulf lived alone after the murder of his family three years ago, only a little after Skulker's arrival on this planet. The human population lived in ignorance of what really took place the night of the murders, but the supernatural community weren't as blind to the truth. Not all of them knew what exactly took out nearly the whole of a werewolf pack, but many were aware that a family of hunters ambushed the pack and slaughtered their numbers without cause.

Skulker halted in his pacing as a cruel smirk carved across his face. The hunters of that family were driven out and banished to never return to Amity Park, and the council of this planet would make certain of that or else the family would suffer more than a single loss. The whole of that family, however, weren't forced to leave. The husband of the murdered hunter was allowed to remain and live peacefully in Amity Park for he was no hunter himself, merely an average business man trying to make a nice life for his family. It was possible the man remained ignorant of whom his wife really was and the true nature of her death. But his daughter, Skulker knew for certain, was far more aware of the truth than the overseers of this community knew. The burning grudge remained strong within her, and Skulker wouldn't be surprised if she followed in her mother's footsteps. And that was exactly what Skulker needed: a woman with the means and desire to take out the obstacle standing in his way.

Tearing out of his apartment, Skulker headed for the woman's house. She didn't like him very much with the way he stalked her friend, but Skulker knew she would have more reason to hate the werewolf over him. Being human, she wouldn't be restricted to the oath, which meant if she was stealthy enough, she could have her revenge upon the werewolf without being discovered by Masters. He smirked smugly at his plan as he walked through the neighborhood toward her house. She would get what she wanted, he would get what he wanted, Kwan would be open for the taking, and no violation of his oath would have occurred, leaving him free and clear to depart this planet after graduation.

When he arrived at the small, two story house with the faded blue paint, Skulker pressed the doorbell then waited. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as his gaze drifted around the quiet neighborhood. All the homes on the block had nicely, well maintained front lawns, which were probably mowed and watered regularly to keep up their perfect appearance. Nearly all the houses looked freshly painted without a speck of dirt marring their perfection, making the house he stood before seem out of place with the paint peeling here and there. A few houses down, he spied the Long house, home of his prey, and he wondered if perhaps Kwan was home right at that moment. Skulker was tempted to check, but the door opened at that moment.

"What are you doing here, Skulker?" The woman folded her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. Her green eyes narrowed, her expression setting into one of anger. A towel draped over her shoulders that she used it to wipe the sweat gathered on her brow. From the way she dressed in tight black shorts that cut off above the knee and a yellow tank top, Skulker assumed that he interrupted her work out.

"I have something to discuss with you," Skulker said, using one of the charming smiles that tended to make the pathetic human females at the high school go weak in the knees. It didn't seem to have any effect on this woman though. "If I might come in where we can talk privately?"

Mouth pursed and eyes squinted, she stared at him for a moment, weighing her options before she stepped back and allowed him to enter her house. "This better be good, alien freak," she grumbled, slamming the door shut after he was inside the house.

"Why, you are a sharp one, Valerie." Skulker chuckled as his gaze swept over the front hall and into the room adjacent to it. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, simply an average home for an average family, but Skulker was willing to bet there was more under the surface to this house. Natural she wouldn't keep any hunting weapons out in the open where the whole of the supernatural community might see them. She was still considered a normal human and no doubt wished to keep it that way. "You figured out what I was?" He turned his smirk back on her.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out." Valerie stepped up close to Skulker, drawing herself up to her full height just a few inches shy of him. Green eyes narrowed dangerously into his as she tilted her head up ever so slightly. "You can pass yourself off as a human pretty well."

"Your lesser species isn't all that hard to blend into," Skulker pointed out with a snort of derision.

"However," Valerie jabbed a finger into his chest, "you can't completely hide everything. If someone knows where to _look_ , they can spot the truth quite easily." Drawing away from him, she tapped her cheek right under one of her eyes.

Skulker cursed inwardly, thinking no one would be able to spot the minute difference in his eyes. He certainly wouldn't have expected a mere human, even a hunter, to catch the faint designs of circuitry showing through the irises of his eyes. Only someone who looked closely enough would be able to notice it, and he couldn't recall a time when Valerie was ever near enough to him to spot that difference. They usually tended to keep their distance from each other. The only common link between them was Kwan.

"Now," Valerie folded her arms, shifting her weight onto one leg as she glared at him, "what was it you wanted to discuss with me?"

Skulker almost thought he could hear the unspoken "and you're lucky I don't have a weapon me" burning in her eyes at that moment. A smirk tried to sneak out, but he schooled his expression. It was laughable to think this woman was skilled enough to even remotely be a threat to him. "I believe you're probably as unhappy as I am about a certain werewolf hanging around with a common friend of ours."

"Kwan is _not_ your friend," Valerie growled as her expression darkened considerably.

"Of course," Skulker agreed, though being Kwan's "friend" was never part of his plan. He didn't need friends when he had his collection. "But you would like to get Wulf out of the picture, wouldn't you? After all," he shrugged, looking around the house again, "he did kill your mother."

"I don't need _you_ to remind me of that." Her muscles tensed, like she was restraining the urge to punch him. Folding her arms, Valerie drummed the fingers of one hand over her bicep as she thought over what he said. "And what exactly are you proposing? I assume you have some sort of plan in that tin head of yours."

"What do you know about the winter solstice?" Skulker never went into a hunt without doing his research, unlike some stupid new kid. Danny really didn't know what he was getting himself into when he tried to stick his nose into the alien's business, though those drawings he did in class piqued Skulker's interest. There was something curious about them, but Skulker wasn't able to get a decent look at them before that idiot Cogsworth ripped the paper out of his hold.

"The supernatural usually throw a huge celebration out in the forest," Valerie said, not impressing Skulker with her knowledge. He learned about that within weeks of arriving on this planet. "But they keep the location secret and veiled so that only the supernatural can find it." She frowned at him, trying to determine his reason for asking about it.

"What if I told you that I could lead you right to them?" Skulker smirked devilishly. He couldn't predict whether or not the werewolf would bother to make an appearance at the gathering, but as a hunter, Valerie would likely enjoy the chance to take out a few of their numbers, even if she couldn't get her revenge just yet. It would only be too perfect if Wulf attended the solstice celebration, and Skulker only hoped somehow the stars aligned just right to allow the removal of the obstacle in his way. He pondered how he might drive the werewolf toward the solstice celebration at the proper time. That was the only glitch with this current plan: not knowing whether or not Wulf would actually attend the celebration. But forging an alliance with Valerie had potential, and that fact kept him smirking.


	22. Chapter 22

Wulf poked at the microwavable meal that he heated up for his dinner. It wasn't very tasty, and part of him wanted to simply throw it out rather than finishing the mediocre meal. He forced another bite into his mouth, making a face as he chewed the foul, mushy substance. It might not be such a bad idea to waste a little more money on better food to eat. He hated wasting money when he didn't need to, but the microwavable meals were hardly better than the sludge the lunch ladies served up in the cafeteria. He managed one more bite before deciding to give up and throw the remainder away in the garbage.

With a tired sigh, he glanced around his small apartment. He had homework to do over the winter break but saw no point in getting to it on the second day of their break since there was plenty of time to worry about homework later. His homework, however, was about the only interesting thing to do at the moment. Wulf shook his head, realizing his life probably looked pretty sad to anyone that cared to actually look at him. Most of his nights were spent alone in his apartment with the occasional running around as a wolf at night, though with new hunters in town, he decided to keep that activity to a minimum. He didn't want to risk getting shot again with a tracker laced with poison. He couldn't count on someone else like Danny coming to his rescue when he was too weak to make it to somewhere safe.

Scratching a hand through his hair, Wulf thought over the last few days at school. Ever since Danny swapped seats with Kwan in history, Wulf stayed glued to the jock whenever possible, not wanting to give Skulker the opportunity to get near his prey and continue chipping away at Kwan's defenses. He smirked as he recalled Skulker's scowl that first day when he couldn't get near Kwan after class. The continued shielding only increased Skulker's anger, but the alien was unable to do anything about it. Attacking students to get them out of his way would violate the oath, and their principal wouldn't sit idly by when he learned that Skulker hurt one of his students.

But the oath also prevented Wulf from attacking the alien to protect Kwan, which was frustrating for him. His teeth ground together as he growled. He didn't know all that much about Kwan, except what he overheard at the man's house and what Poindexter told him. Kwan kept silent much of the time, nibbling quietly at his food during lunch in the theater. The Kwan whose eyes were always clouded with sadness wasn't the same Kwan that entered as a freshmen four years ago. Wulf had little reason to pay attention to the man that year. They were both so very different people back then, both suffering changes the following year. But it was hard to completely ignore the cheerful jock, the unusual jock that was actually nice to those around him instead falling into the stereotypical role of a bully.

A soft knock at the door drew Wulf out of his thoughts, and he focused his senses upon the person standing beyond the door. Leather and loneliness hit his nose as the smell of blood mingled with the man's natural scent. Wulf shot across the apartment, ripping open the door and almost tearing it off its hinges in his haste to reveal the dark haired man standing in the hallway. Kwan hung his head, hugging his letterman jacket around his body.

"I, uh," Kwan mumbled awkwardly. "I shouldn't have come."

When Kwan turned to leave, Wulf grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the apartment. "What happened?" he demanded, closing the door. He didn't release his hold on the man for fear that Kwan would try running away, knowing the man had a habit of sneaking away from uncomfortable situations without even making a sound. His werewolf senses, however, made it easy for Wulf to track the man's movements. "And remember: I can tell when you're lying."

Kwan swallowed, hesitating to respond. Then he lifted his head, aqua green eyes averted as he showed the damage to Wulf. "It's nothing. Just forget I came." Kwan inched toward the door, but Wulf kept a firm hold on him.

"You show up here with a black eye and busted lip," Wulf growled darkly, but when he saw Kwan cringe away from him, he softened his expression. "And you try to tell me that's nothing?"

"It's not that bad. Not really. I don't know why I bothered to come here. It's fine." Kwan's voice wavered, though any normal person wouldn't have heard it. Wulf only noticed it because of his superior hearing. Kwan tried to believe in his words, that the pain he suffered didn't bother him, but the hiccup in his heartbeat told the werewolf that Kwan was lying to even himself.

"You're a terrible liar." Wulf lifted the man's face to look at him and gingerly brushed his fingers over the bruising around Kwan's left eye. The jock winced at the light touch, still refusing to meet the werewolf's gaze. Wulf frowned as his hand trailed down to the man's mouth, staring at the cut over the lower lip where a line of blood healed over by now. His first thought jumped to Skulker, but he couldn't imagine the alien breaking the oath after waiting this long. "Your father."

That simple statement finally got Kwan to snap his gaze up toward Wulf. His mouth opened, fear clouding his eyes and seeping into his scent at the mention of his father. "I shouldn't have come over here." He shook his head, lowering it so that his bangs hung down to obscure his face. "I'm just bothering you. I should go."

"No, you're staying," Wulf stated firmly, guiding Kwan over to the kitchen area of his apartment. "And you're telling me what happened." He snapped a stern, green eyed stare at the man before he retrieved an ice pack from his freezer to put on the man's black eye.

"It-" Kwan frowned, realizing that Wulf wasn't going to accept any more lies from him. "I dropped my dinner," he explained miserably as he turned his gaze away from the werewolf. The comment gained a frown from Wulf, who gently pressed the ice pack to his left eye. "Spaghetti. The tomato sauce splattered all over their perfectly white carpet. A complete bitch to clean up." Kwan snorted bitterly. "They weren't happy, didn't care if it was an accident. It was just another mistake."

"Why do you let them do this to you?" Wulf dropped his gaze to the busted lip, and his brow creased in thought. That tiny cut didn't explain the strong smell of blood filling the air.

"How do you stand up against the people that have abused you all your life?" The words were mumbled quietly, but Kwan had to know that the werewolf would hear it.

After placing the ice pack on the counter, Wulf pulled Kwan's arm from his body. The man fought him, putting up a feeble attempt to keep his arms closely tucked in, but he couldn't stop Wulf from pulling open his letterman jacket. Fury burned in Wulf's eyes as he gazed at the blood staining the white shirt the jock wore. He snapped his gaze up to Kwan, who flinched and once again wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You think this is fine?" Wulf couldn't keep the growl out of his voice, tugging the letterman jacket off Kwan.

The jock stood there, not fighting or struggling, simply allowing Wulf to remove his clothes so that he could examine the bleeding wound. Once the shirt was off, tossed away with the letterman jacket, Wulf stepped back with his mouth gaping open at the sight that met his eyes. Kwan's chest was peppered with bruises. Old scars crisscrossed his torso; many faint and faded away while others were darker and fresher, still healing. Three cuts were brand new. Two were light, small, shallow that merely left a red trail of blood where they were inflicted. The third was in his side, low and deep enough for blood to still be spilling slowly from it, staining even the top of his jeans. Wulf ground his teeth, imagining the man calling himself Kwan's father stabbing his son with a knife, or something else with a blade.

"It's not the first time," Kwan mumbled, setting his jaw as he stared off to the side. "I've received plenty of injuries in my life. I know how to deal with it."

Wulf grabbed his face and forced the man to look at him. "That doesn't make it okay," he shouted, not understanding how this man could still act like it was perfectly normal for a parent to treat a child like this. But the earlier question repeated in his head. After being abused like this all of his life, Kwan couldn't find the strength to fight against his parents. Anger boiled under the surface at that fact, and Wulf turned away to grab the first aid kit. He thought they were making headway, somehow getting through to the jock that they cared about him, but looking at him now, standing there bleeding with that broken look in his eyes, Wulf realized Kwan was still keeping everything wrapped up tightly and buried away inside him.

Crouching down before the jock, Wulf wiped at the bleeding wound with disinfectant. Other than the amount of blood still oozing slowly from the wound, it didn't look too bad. Whatever he was stabbed with missed anything vital. Once he finished cleaning the wound, Wulf taped a square bandage over it. He lifted his gaze and found a curious look in Kwan's eyes. When Wulf stood up, Kwan's gaze followed him.

"You know exactly why Skulker is after you," Wulf said, not even needing to question it. Especially not when he caught the flicker of panic assaulting his senses from the other man.

Kwan glanced toward the window, gazing out at the darkening sky as a frown tugged at his mouth. "Do you really want to know the truth?"

"Yes," Wulf answered firmly while Kwan kept his eyes on the window. "If we knew the truth, maybe we could do more to help you."

Kwan pursed his lips tightly, debating things over in his head. Then he sighed, turning back to Wulf. "Fine. There's somewhere we should go then." He dropped his gaze, and an embarrassed flush colored his cheeks. "Um, after you get me a clean shirt?" He hugged his arms around his body like he could shield it from the werewolf's sight.

"And where exactly are we going?" Wulf walked over to his closet to grab something clean for the man to wear.

"You'll see when we get there." Kwan caught the black shirt that Wulf threw at him and pulled it on quickly. The sleeves were a bit long and dangled past his hands. Tugging the sleeves up, he led the way toward the door.

"I'm not very big on surprises," Wulf grumbled as they left his apartment.

"I thought people liked being surprised." Kwan raised an eyebrow at him.

Wulf glowered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Last time I was surprised, my family ended up being murdered right in front of me by hunters."

"Oh," Kwan mumbled numbly as he lowered his head. "I didn't - I never - I'm sorry."

Wulf glanced over at him, noting the miserable slump of the jock's shoulders. "You don't have to apologize. None of it was your fault." He shrugged as his gaze drifted around the area. When he saw they were heading for the forest, Wulf sent a curious look to Kwan as he tried to figure out why Kwan was taking them here simply to tell him the truth. He couldn't think of what kind of secret the jock could be hiding, what reason Skulker might have for hunting Kwan.

"That doesn't mean I can't feel sorry about what happened," Kwan mumbled, carefully picking his way through the forest to keep from tripping over roots sticking out of the ground. "I wasn't thinking." He shook his head like he was thinking himself an idiot at that moment. "Of course you wouldn't like surprises after that." Turning around and walking backwards, he frowned at Wulf. "I'm sorry you had to go through something like that. And all alone." His sad gaze dropped to the forest floor.

"And I'm sorry you've had to go through all that pain alone," Wulf countered with his gaze focusing on the busted lip and black eye. He couldn't see how Kwan could smile through all that up to sophomore year. "How far are we going to walk?"

"It shouldn't be too much longer." Kwan turned back around, and the scents of fear and worry filled the air. Whatever his secret was, the jock was nervous about sharing it. "I've known about this for a while now. I even watched it from afar once. But I've never actually attended it before."

"Attended what?" Wulf's brow creased with worry as Kwan reached back to grab his hand. When the jock disappeared before him, Wulf blinked wide eyes, wondering what happened until Kwan pulled him forward. His skin tingled like he stepped through some sort of barrier, and Kwan came back into view. But the jock wasn't the only thing to seemingly appear out of nowhere. Not too far ahead of them, a large bonfire blazed toward the sky in the small clearing. Around the base of the bonfire, beings of various supernatural species gathered, dancing and sharing drinks.

"It's the winter solstice tonight," Kwan explained, staying back as he watched the festivities going on before them. Despite coming all the way here, he didn't seem all that keen on participating.

"I understand that you're not ignorant of the supernatural beings all around you," Wulf said, still trying to puzzle out everything. "But how do _you_ know about this? I was pretty certain the fae kept the location of this celebration very hushed and didn't reveal information to outsiders, especially humans. I never even knew where they met to celebrate the solstice."

Kwan stayed silent, gazing up at the flames licking at the starry sky. Wulf couldn't smell any fear or misery or panic off him. There was only an eerie calmness about him like that first time they encountered each other in the park and Kwan reached out a hand to pet him in his wolf form. Then the jock turned his gaze upon Wulf, and his aqua green eyes were touched with a hint of worry as they flashed strangely in the light of the bonfire.

"I was never human," Kwan explained, his voice soft. Shaking his head, he laughed in bitterness. "I grew up thinking I was, but it was all a lie. I didn't realize the truth though until Skulker arrived here." His gaze turned back toward the bonfire, and he frowned, eyes glowing brightly. "The first time he approached me was in the locker room after the rest team already left after showering. He had just made quarterback. He had this irritating knowing smirk as he looked me over in that way that made me feel like he was deciding how best to cook me for a meal." A shudder ran through Kwan. "I actually thought that was his plan at the time. It scared the crap out of me."

"Well, he is a creep," Wulf put in, not sure what else to say at the time. That first statement still left him numb because Kwan never seemed anything but human to him.

A smirk flicked across the jock's face at that comment. "He laughed and said I was a master at using a glamour. I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. I mean, what the hell was a glamour anyway? It was the first time I ever heard the term before." Sighing, he reached up and scratched his hand through his raven locks. "After that, he kept making comments like that, cryptic things that only left me confused. It was probably about a month and a half after the first comment that he finally decided he was sick of being all mysterious and just get down to it. He caught me in the park while I was jogging and started prodding at me. Poor little Kwan," he sneered, baring his teeth that looked slightly sharper than a human's should, "not loved by his 'parents.' But of course, why should they love him? _He_ isn't their son. _He's_ just an impostor masquerading around as their son. A replacement left behind by a parent that never wanted him either. And where is the real Kwan? He laughed at that point. Because the chances that the real Kwan was still alive were slim at best."

"What are you talking about?" Wulf tugged on the man's arm, forcing Kwan to turn away from the bonfire and face him.

"You've heard the legend of the changeling, haven't you?" Kwan continued without waiting for a response. "A fae creeps into the home of humans and steals their child leaving in its place one of their own, using a glamour to make the fae offspring look just like the human child. That's what happened to me. My real mother, whoever she is, sneaked into the home of the Longs and left me there as a baby. I still have no idea how Skulker even realized the truth when I didn't know." He shook his head, misery in his eyes. "Skulker kept prodding at me until I finally got really angry, and this _thing_ exploded out of me, knocking that stupid alien over."

Wulf was still trying to process the fact that Kwan was a changeling. It was an old legend, and Wulf never thought that the fae still exchanged their children for humans. It wasn't uncommon, according to stories, for the changeling to live most of its life not realizing the truth about itself.

"I think Skulker was just playing with me at first," Kwan continued, bitterness and rage in his voice whenever he spoke Skulker's name. "Amused by that stupid fox that didn't have a clue about what it really was. But after he poked me enough to finally get me to reveal my true self, Skulker grinned like it was greatest find in the world. Oh, the treasure he found, and no one on this pathetic rock even knew about it."

"But there are lots of kitsune," Wulf argued with a confused knitting of his brow. He could see a few kitsune in the crowd gathered around the bonfire. "I heard Skulker only cared for rare, unique treasures to add to his collection."

"Did you know it's been about a thousand years since the last black kitsune walked upon this planet?" Kwan dropped his gaze, lowering his head. Wulf blinked in surprise when he spotted the two furry black ears poking out of the jock's dark hair. "Most kitsune are silver, a few are red. But black? Hardly ever is one born black. But supposedly those are usually the most powerful. And there I was right in front of Skulker: the first black kitsune in a thousand years. He wanted nothing more than to grab me and head straight back to his planet at that moment, but of course, he still had a punishment to serve out and the protection oath prevented him from doing anything that might inflict harm on me. And he knew I wouldn't simply come quietly."

"And that's why he made the wish for obedience." Wulf growled deep in his throat. "If you were made to follow all his commands, then he could take you without having to hurt you."

"But it seems my magic interferes with genie magic." Kwan shrugged, not really understanding how that worked. Behind him, a long black tail twitched, the tip looking wispy like smoke. "I've been researching into what a kitsune can do, but I'm still pretty clueless on all the various abilities a kitsune has. It's not like I've ever had someone to teach me. My mother dumped me the first chance she got. But the Longs knew the exchange took place from the very beginning." Kwan snorted. "For all that she got right with the glamour, my real mother failed in one aspect." He tapped under his right eye. "The unnaturalness of my eyes. The real Kwan didn't have this eye color." He frowned, some idea prickling at his mind. "Maybe that's how Skulker knew. He realized the eye color error."

Wulf reached over and flicked Kwan gently on the forehead. The jock winced, rubbing at the spot as he frowned at the werewolf. "So what if you're a kitsune? I'm a werewolf. Did you really think being a kitsune was going to be a big deal? You know there are a ton of different supernatural beings in this town." Wulf shook his head, still not understanding what went on in this man's head. "Why didn't you just say something earlier?"

"Because I've always been alone in everything." Kwan turned away, his gaze finding the bonfire again. "I didn't know how to ask for help. Then when it was finally present before me, I still didn't know how to really accept it."

Wulf sighed tiredly. "Kwan, we're not going to let Skulker take you away. We're going to protect you and keep you safe." He caught a flicker of a real smile across the jock's face.


	23. Chapter 23

"Nothing yet here either," Danny said with a tired sigh. "Let us know if you find anything." Hanging up the phone, he crammed it back into his pocket as he turned a frown to the man beside him. "No luck with Tucker and Sam."

"Paulina and Desiree haven't come across anything either," Dash said as he pocketed his phone as well. "Are you sure it's wise to let your friends go off by themselves? They don't really know this area all that well."

"They're used to this kind of thing." Danny shrugged, sweeping his gaze at the forest around him.

At sunset, they left Dash's house then split into pairs when they reached the forest. They spent all of Saturday and Sunday researching everything about the winter solstice in the books from Danny's house and whatever they could find on the internet. The solstice was one of many festivals held by the supernatural, the fae to be specific, but the location was a well kept secret. Few outsiders ever learned the location of where the fae gathered for the celebration, and it was veiled to keep it hidden from sight. But the veil wouldn't stop them from finding the location if they managed to stumble through the barrier. His parents might not be the best at hunting the supernatural, but even they might get lucky bumbling around in the woods.

"Anyway, I don't think Sam would have been happy partnering with either Paulina or Desiree." Danny suspected Tucker would have enjoyed pairing with either of the women, and probably a little too much. "You should have seen them when we faced off against a troll."

"The three of you sure went through a lot, huh?"

Danny glanced back over at Dash, finding the blond staring at him with an odd look in his dark blue eyes. "It was the only time my family stuck around long enough for me to actually make friends," he explained, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. "After the whole thing came out about my parents being hunters, Sam was very insistent about hearing all the stories about the different creatures I've met. Then it just turned into us patrolling the town for any supernatural activity. Though a lot of time the big bads came looking for us." He frowned, lowering his gaze at that thought, and his mind half turned back to the rape before he shook it out of his head. "Maybe it was just me. I seem to be a magnet for the supernatural." He laughed weakly.

"Well, I can't speak for the rest of the supernatural community," Dash snaked an arm around Danny's waist, drawing the shorter man closer to him, "but I can certainly understand the attraction." He smiled as Danny's cheeks turned pink. "Do you really think we'll be able to find this whole fae solstice celebration thing?"

"It's more important that we keep my parents from finding it," Danny answered, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign that they might be even remotely in the right area. "I don't want to think what would happen if my parents found them. They aren't doing anything bad, after all. There's no reason to hunt them down." After another quick sweep of the area, he glanced back to Dash. "Maybe we should have asked Lancer if he knew anything. He seems to be pretty familiar with a lot of stuff. He might have some knowledge about this whole solstice thing."

"He probably would have told us to keep our noses out of it," Dash pointed out. "He is a teacher after all. He wouldn't want us going into a possibly dangerous situation if he knew about it."

Sighing, Danny knew Dash had a point with that, but he couldn't help feeling frustrated at the moment when it seemed like they probably were looking in all the wrong places. His parents could be closing in for a surprise ambush on a bunch of innocent creatures. If Lancer happened to know something, they might actually be able to find this celebration thing.

"I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of my parents," Danny muttered with a frown. He got that same miserable feeling whenever he thought about his parents catching Sam doing magic and discovering she was a witch. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that his parents never figured out that a witch was under their roof for two years. He supposed he should really count himself lucky though, since they still didn't realize there was anything abnormal about their own son.

"And we're not going to let your parents hurt anyone," Dash assured him with a gentle squeeze of his arm around Danny's waist. "Too bad we couldn't get in contact with Wulf and Abner. Wulf probably could sniff things out, or at least figure out where your parents are and keep watch on them from a distance."

"Wait!" Danny whispered urgently, forcing Dash to stop walking. They stood still in the forest, breathing as quietly as possible while they listened to the noises in the forest. "Someone's over there." Danny pointed off to the left.

"Your parents," Dash said with his face scrunched up in the manner he had with he was focusing on someone's thoughts. "But there's someone else that way." He pointed ahead and a little to the right. "I caught them thinking something about the solstice. They might know where it is."

The color drained from Danny's face as he stared toward the left. His parents were far too close to the location then, and it would be only a matter of time before they managed to stumble into the celebration. "We have to follow that person!" He turned and grabbed hold of the front of Dash's shirt. Determination flashed in his bright blue eyes. "We have to warn them that hunters are nearby."

Grabbing hold of Danny's hand, Dash pulled him along as he headed toward where he heard the person thinking about the solstice. They moved as quietly through the forest as they could, trying not to rustle leaves or snap twigs that might draw attention to their location. Danny kept glancing off to the left, listening hard for the sounds of his parents wandering the forest. Stealth was never something his parents excelled at, and often times that fact led to them missing opportunities to capture whatever supernatural creature they were hunting.

When Dash came to a sudden stop, Danny bumped into his back, his attention distracted by the distance flash of a light. His parents were getting closer! Danny hoped whatever creatures were attending the celebration knew how to flee quickly and quietly to avoid capture. Glancing up at the blond man, Danny saw Dash's brow furrow, his mouth tugging downward.

"I can hear a lot of thoughts," Dash said with an uncertain waver to his voice. "But it's kind of like it's muffled, like listening through a thick wall. I just hear murmurs but can't really make out what anyone is really thinking."

Danny snapped his fingers as an idea struck him. "It must be because of the veil! It's blocking your telepathy, but there must be enough strong thoughts to break somewhat through it."

Danny continued forward past Dash, forgetting his parents for a time in his eagerness to see the fae's celebration. Still holding the raven haired man's hand, Dash followed after him as he walked ahead. A tingle washed over them as they passed through some sort of invisible barrier, and Danny's mouth gaped open when his wide eyes landed on the bonfire burning brightly before them.

"Look at all of them," Danny gasped out, his eyes sweeping over the collection of various creatures before them as a smile spread over his face.

"Don't forget the real reason we're here." Dash nudged him in the side, drawing Danny out of his excited daze.

"Right. But, uh," Danny frowned as he looked around, "how do we get them to listen to us?"

"I guess we'll have to do something big to catch their attention." Dash frowned as he dropped his gaze to Danny. "Got any undead powers that might be helpful here?"

"What exactly are you two doing here?" At the woman's voice, both men turned around to face the speaker. The woman folded her arms, shifting her weight so that one hip jutted out to the side. Her severe expression displayed her unhappiness to find them at the festivities. Danny blinked several times at her red hair that seemed to be styled like horns.

"I knew it!" Dash pointed at the woman as he stared with wide eyes. "I always knew there was something weird about you, Spectra."

"Bravo," Spectra said dully, clapping in a mocking way.

"Who is this?" Danny questioned with a furrowing of his brow. He never met this woman before, but judging from Dash's reaction, Danny guessed she probably had something to do with the high school.

"Penelope Spectra, school counselor," she introduced as her green eyes fell upon Danny. "But my question remains. What are you two doing here? This is meant to be a celebration only for the fae."

"All right. We'll leave," Dash said with an uncaring shrug as Danny snapped surprised eyes toward him. "We just thought you all would like to know that there's a pair of hunters roaming the forest, and they happen to be pretty close to this location right now."

Spectra narrowed her eyes at him, not seeming to believe him. Her foot tapped against the ground as she debated whether to believe him or not. When she glanced Danny's way, her mouth thinned unhappily, and some decision seemed to be reached in her mind. "I suppose you don't follow in parents' footsteps after all." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"That would be pretty hypocritical of me," Danny said flatly, "seeing as I'm not exactly human."

Spectra's eyes grew a fraction wider as they traveled over his body. "So they're close?"

Danny nodded. "I could see their flashlights not too far away before we stepped through the veil."

A troubled expression washed over her face as Spectra nodded. Clearly she understood that this warning wasn't to be laughed at or ignored. "You two should get ready to run, or just leave right now. We know how to escape sticky situations." She waved them off like they were inconsequential as she walked back toward the group of fae surrounding the bonfire.

"I'm sure they have everything handled-"

"But you'd rather stay and make sure everyone gets away," Dash finished with a smirk.

"Mindreading is so annoying," Danny grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the blond man.

Dash laughed. "I didn't have to use my telepathy on that one. You just strike me as the type that likes to see things through to the end." He shoved his hands into his pockets as a fae stood before the rest to make the announcement warning the others of hunters in the area.

At the mention of hunters, panic surged through the gathering. Fae fled the scene, sprinting away from the bonfire in all directions. Danny gaped at the mass exodus, his head jerking back and forth as he tried to follow all the fleeing creatures. He couldn't fathom how this reaction would save them all from being captured when some of fae were heading right toward his parents. Dash grabbed him around the waist, yanking him out of the way as a pair of fae shot past them.

"We have to keep my parents from capturing any of them," Danny shouted, ready to run in the direction they last saw his parents.

"Wait. Is that Wulf?" Dash pointed toward the right, and Danny followed the arm with his eyes. "Is he with Kwan?" They only caught a brief glance of the pair before Wulf and Kwan raced into the forest like so many others.

"At least they're heading away from my parents," Danny mumbled. "Come on. Let's go distract my parents." Untangling himself from Dash's hold, Danny darted off, passing through the barrier with another slight tingle.

Outside the safety of the veil, faint wisps of light flickered all around him, disappearing as quickly as he spotted them. Danny could only assume those were the fleeing fae using some sort of magic to enable them to vanish from sight and move soundlessly through the forest. Other fae seemed to lack that ability, relying on their quick speed to leap from tree branch to tree branch or race along the forest floor. Others took to the sky, flying safely out of range of any weapons hunters might have. Shouts came from the distance with the sounds of fighting, or at least his parents crashing around trying to catch one of the fae fleeing past them.

Danny followed the noise, determined to keep his parents from hurting any innocent fae. Maybe some weren't so innocent, he read plenty in the last two days about some of the horrible things fae could do, but none of them were doing anything at the solstice celebration to warrant being the target of a hunt. Behind him, Danny could hear the hurried footfalls of Dash running after him, but his attention was focused more on what was happening ahead of him.

A canister bounced off a tree to his left, and when it dropped to the ground, smoke billowed out of it, coating the forest in a thick white fog. Coughing as the smoke clogged his lungs, Danny lifted the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth, trying to block out the smoke. It was hard to see within the dense cloud surrounding him, but he continued to forge ahead, stumbling over unseen tree roots or into bushes. The sounds of movement ahead of him grew louder while he could no longer hear anyone following behind him.

Something flew through the fog and smashed into his face before he could react to suddenly seeing something before him. Danny hit the ground with a cry, holding a hand over his tender nose.

"I got one!" Jack shouted, far too closely for Danny's liking. It sounded like his father stood right over him.

Eyes growing wide with panic, Danny scrambled to his feet. A hand caught hold of his arm, gripping it tightly, before he could bolt out of the area. His heart hammered in his chest when he saw his father's dark blue eyes faintly through the mist. If he could see his father, Jack would be able to see him. Danny needed to get away and get away quickly before his father realized he just caught his own son.

_I really hate to do this_ , Danny thought as he focused the way Lancer taught him on Friday. He still hadn't mastered it, but under Lancer's guidance, he managed to do it once that day before growing too exhausted to continue training. His hand glowed as green energy grew within his palm. It wasn't very strong, but it might be enough to at least surprise his father into releasing him. He fired the weak blast at his father, but he heard barely even a grunt when the blast hit Jack in the chest. Fear surged through him as Danny struggled to rip his arm free. He needed to escape! But his father's hold was like a vice grip that would probably leave a bruise.

"I've got the net," Maddie shouted, making her way toward them.

Breathing was difficult as Danny's panic grew. He often feared something like this happening to him, finally being captured by his parents who would want to learn everything about his bizarre condition. Only his nightmares about the rape and that strange red eyed being kept him from constantly dreaming about this exact moment. He didn't really want to hurt his parents, but he needed to escape before they learned the truth about him. His mind felt blank at that moment, unable to think of a way out of this situation. He wasn't physically strong enough to pry his way free of his father's hold, and he didn't have enough control over his weird powers to use them to fight against his parents. He started hyperventilating as he heard his mother nearing them with each passing second. The world grew darker as his doom neared.

Laughter, cruel and echoing, rose from somewhere close by, almost like it was coming from him. Danny searched for the source, but his body wouldn't respond to his commands. When he tried to turn his head, nothing happened. His eyes stared straight ahead, but his vision seemed tunneled, like he was peering at the world through a tube and from a distance. He realized then the strangeness of his body, like he wasn't quite attached to it. The pressure of his father's hand around his arm felt numbed, hardly there at all. But he could feel his mouth stretching into a wide grin.

_What the hell is happening?_ Danny thought, his mind screaming as his panic only grew.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this quickly," his voice whispered, and cold dread ran through Danny as he tried to understand why someone was using his voice to speak. No, it wasn't merely his voice. Something was using his body! A soft heat rolled through him, gathering at his hand, and flames burst forth in his vision.

_Don't hurt them!_ Danny screamed at whatever was controlling him. He could hear shouting as the flames spread, eating at the trees of the forest.

"It's going to get away!" Jack shouted in disappointment. He sounded farther away, probably having released Danny to stumble away after the fire broke out between them.

"Why are you complaining?" asked whatever controlled him. "You wanted to escape. I was just helping you out. After all, I promised to keep you safe."

_No!_ Danny shouted, fighting in any way he could think of to regain control of his body. He could hear the voice, like a distant memory of a dark place. He remembered it tickling his ear as it spoke his name in his nightmares. Whatever it was, Danny didn't care. He simply wanted it out of him, didn't want it taking control of his body like this.

The world swirled in his vision as his body turned and started running away from the fire, and his parents. "Stop fighting!" A hand slapped over one eye as his teeth clenched.

_No, this is my body_ , Danny argued firmly. His panic over the situation remained, but his rage at being taking over like this burned stronger. He wouldn't sit back and let something control him. He was moving on from the rape, finally dealing with what happened to him instead of letting it rule him forever. _Get. Out. Of. ME!_ Danny screamed, pushing with all he had to force out whatever possessed him.

Ripping, tearing, searing pain blinded Danny as he collapsed to the ground with an agonizing scream. It hurt everywhere, and Danny flashed back to the moment before he died and was swallowed by that cold, lonely darkness. Breathing hard, Danny dug his fingers into the ground as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He was weak, so terribly weak, and his mind couldn't puzzle out what exactly took place a moment ago.

"You haven't won yet," growled a man.

Danny snapped his head up, terror rising in him as he focused on the burning red eyes and the flickering white flames that made up the being's hair. Danny could see through the transparent body floating over him, looking very much like a ghost. Rage twisted the man's face as he scowled down at Danny. When the ghostly man flew at him, Danny could only fall back on his arms with a startled shout. He didn't even have the energy to try using any sort of power to fight off this ghost like being. Clawed hands extended toward him like in the nightmares, seeking his throat to squeeze.

The hands didn't reach him though. The ghostly man snarled furiously as he pounded at the invisible wall blocking his progress toward his victim. Danny gaped at the proceedings, his heart beating quickly as his chest burned. Red eyes pierced into his blue eyes like the ghostly man thought he could fire lasers from them to melt out Danny's eyeballs.

"You may be protected now," whispered the man in a voice that hardly comforted Danny. "But that protection won't last forever. When it breaks, I'll take back what's mine." Floating above Danny, the man smirked cruelly before fading out of sight.

Danny stared at where he last spotted the man, for a moment unable to do much more than breathe raggedly and listen to the pounding of his heart. When he could finally shake himself out of his shock, Danny sat up, yanking up his shirt. The symbol that Lancer drew on his chest before they began the training glowed brightly on his flesh. He could still feel a steady warmth from it. Dropping his shirt, he sighed with relief that Lancer talked him into letting his teacher draw the protection spell upon him. If Lancer didn't use magic on him, that ghostly man probably would have succeeded in taking over Danny's body again.

"Danny!"

At Dash's voice, Danny jumped, fear surging inside him again before he recognized that voice. "Dash," Danny called as he struggled to his feet. His legs felt shaky under him, and he had to lean against a tree to support him. The fog of smoke started to lift, but any signs of a fire raging in the forest couldn't be seen.

Dash appeared within moments, his eyes struck with worry when they landed on Danny. "I lost sight of you when that smoke hit." Dash grabbed hold of the man's arms, looking him over for any sign of injury. Danny winced when a hand wrapped around the spot where his father held him, and Dash frowned at that response, or maybe from any bruising around Danny's nose. "What happened?"

"I ran right in my parents," Danny explained, glancing past Dash to where he thought the encounter took place. "My dad had me for a moment." Panicking, he swallowed thickly as he snapped his worried gaze back to Dash. "The smoke is disappearing. They'll spot us here!"

Dash shook his head with only a small hint of relief. "No, something," he struggled for a moment to think of what it was, "a goat thing. I didn't really get a good look with all the smoke around. It shot right past your parents after that fire started, and your parents started chasing after it. I think they thought it was whatever they caught at the time. They're heading away from here now."

"I'd be a little more concerned about that creature," Danny said, slumping in exhaustion against the tree, "if I hadn't been seconds away from being discovered by my parents." He rubbed a hand over his face. "And I don't think I have any energy left to try do anything to help anyone at the moment. I feel like I'm about to pass out."

"I think all the fae are safe for now," Dash said, slipping an arm around Danny's waist to help support him as they started moving. "Except that one luring your parents away. We should call everyone and let them know what happened."

Danny winced. "We were supposed to contact them when we found the location of the solstice celebration."

"I think, given how close your parents were to it, that they'll understand our forgetfulness." Dash reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone.

Danny copied him, his thumb hovering over the buttons to call Tucker. "I think we need to talk to Lancer," he said, turning toward Dash. His expression was worried as he remembered that ghostly figure of a man looming over him. "There's something important I need to tell him."

Dash frowned but nodded. Danny could see that the blond man was worried about whatever this "talk" would involve, and he knew he would eventually have to tell Dash something about the rape to explain exactly what was happening. Dropping his gaze back to his phone, Danny sighed. He didn't feel ready to tell another person about the rape, but he wondered if maybe it was better to get it out of the way now instead of letting it hang over their relationship like a dark cloud.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, Danny punched in Tucker's number into his phone. Sam would be disappointed that she missed out on all the action, but considering his near capture, Danny thought it was probably for the best that Sam wasn't present at the time. He shuddered to think how any spells Sam cast might go wrong during all the chaos that happened in a matter of moments.


	24. Chapter 24

It was a terrifying relief to finally speak the truth, to reveal what he really was, to _show_ someone part of his true appearance. Plenty of times at school, the glamour would start to break when his emotions ran high. That was part of the cost of knowing the truth. Ever since it came out, he had to actually focus on maintaining the glamour or else his ears or tail would slip out. He had to be cautious when other students were around to avoid them catching those moments when a crack appeared in his glamour. Skulker took pleasure in prodding at him, driving up his anger to the point of revealing himself to the entire school. He ground his teeth in memory of those moments.

But now the truth was out, at least to one person. Kwan turned his head and watched the flicker of light from the bonfire play over Wulf's face, casting shadows over his green eyes. It probably seemed silly for him to keep the truth secret for so long, especially from those that were like him, other supernatural beings. But after keeping everything bottled up for long, feeling like he was alone in everything, unwanted and hated, Kwan found it difficult to get those simple words out, to actually speak the truth to someone. But at last, he said them, and it felt like some of the chains binding him broke, giving him a small taste of what freedom might feel like, if only he no longer had the threat of Skulker hanging over him.

Turning his gaze back to the bonfire, Kwan frowned sadly. "I can't really go back now," he admitted out loud. "I might have used a little of my magic on my father when he came at me with that knife." His hand slipped around his waist, laying it the spot that Wulf covered with the bandage. "I think they only kept me around because I didn't have a clue about what I was and they wanted to keep up that perfect little family image they had. It would be strange if they just suddenly didn't have a son after they found out I was a changeling. Too many questions that they wouldn't want to answer. Or something. But now that they know I know?" He sighed, lowering his gaze to the ground. "They definitely aren't going to let me back in the house."

He guessed living in the forest wouldn't be all that bad. Amity Park wasn't all that bad a place to live for the supernatural, and maybe he could find a clan of kitsune to teach him and hide with to escape Skulker. Even if hunters were around, it still wouldn't be the worst situation. He would be free to be the real him, at least. The forest was filled with plenty of edible plants and smaller animals that he could eat. If he remained in his fox form, he wouldn't even need to worry about clothes. Money wouldn't be an issue either. Plenty of the supernatural beings lived within the forest, opting not to mingle with the humans. His aqua green eyes flicked toward Wulf, and he frowned miserably. He didn't want to give up his friends though.

But he couldn't see any other choice at that moment. Without a home to return to and no money, he couldn't simply keep attending Casper High. He paled realizing that dropping out at this point would basically make him a sitting target for Skulker if it meant the protection of the principal no longer extended to him. Raking a hand through his hair, he wondered how he was going to stay out of Skulker's grasp if the alien could hunt him down like an animal.

"I don't have much of a place," Wulf said, drawing Kwan's attention back to the werewolf. He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, ignoring the way Kwan's brow knitted with confusion. "But if you want, you can stay with me. At least, you'd have a roof over your head and a warm place to sleep." He shrugged, passing it off as nothing important.

Kwan stared at him, eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets at the offer. He still couldn't explain what drove him to Wulf's apartment in the first place. Maybe it was because he knew Wulf was a werewolf and probably had some idea of what took place inside the Longs' house after walking Kwan home then to school after waking up in Wulf's apartment. First thought should have been Valerie, who was a friend and lived close by, but like with everything about his life, Kwan kept the truth about the abuse he suffered secret from her. Showing up beaten and bleeding on her doorstep would have brought up more questions than he cared to answer at the moment. His feet simply carried him to Wulf's apartment, and before he knew it, he was knocking on the door. As soon as his knuckles rapped on the door, he realized it was too late to run from the werewolf.

Opening his mouth, Kwan tried to think of a response to Wulf's generosity. Simply having people around him so determined to prove they cared what happened to him was a strange feeling for him. Valerie always cared about him, always tried to protect him, glaring at Skulker whenever the alien was near them, but it was different somehow with Wulf. Perhaps it was because they both belonged in the world of the supernatural while Valerie was simply human. There was a connection that Kwan couldn't even think of how to explain.

But before he could gather his thoughts, figure out his words, a commotion started around the bonfire. Both men turned their heads to see what was happening as one of the fae stood up taller than the rest. Kwan's ears perked up when the fae began to speak, its voice carrying enough for both of them to hear without need for the superior senses. His blinked wide, owlish eyes as they listened to the warning being broadcasted to all fae in attendance.

"Hunters?" Kwan gasped, snapping his gaze toward Wulf as worry shone in his aqua green eyes. "But hunters never get near the solstice celebration!"

"There's a first time for everything," Wulf grunted, darting his gaze around as the other fae dispersed quickly, fleeing before the hunters could arrive to catch them by surprise. "We better get out of here too. I don't care to run into hunters for a third time." He grabbed hold of Kwan's wrist and pulled him along as he ran back through the barrier that kept the celebration hidden.

Fae sped past them, dancing like faint lights through the trees of the forest. Kwan stumbled behind Wulf as his foot caught on a loose root poking out of the ground. Managing to keep his balance though, he sped up to race along beside the werewolf, grinning toothily when he spied some surprise in Wulf's expression.

"Didn't think a fox could keep up with a wolf?" Kwan questioned with a teasing note as he pulled his wrist free and passed Wulf by a step or two.

Wulf snorted at the remark, though a grin seemed to be trying to sneak onto his face despite the worry brought on by the mention of hunters in the area. "And I was holding back to be nice."

A whoosh of wind past Kwan as Wulf increased in speed, but the action only brought a wide smile to Kwan's face. The race was on! All thoughts about Skulker and the Longs and what he was going to do now and the arrival of hunters fled from his mind as the wind whipped around him. In that moment, he enjoyed himself, only thinking of running through the trees and leaving Wulf behind him with a laugh that wasn't forced or strained or faked, a real genuine laugh that he didn't often have cause to give in his lifetime.

He doubted either of them really knew where they were running. There was no sign of hunters in this area, and they were quite some distance away from the bonfire site now. He couldn't even spot another fleeing fae at this point, and he didn't think they needed to worry anymore about being found by the hunters. But when he glanced over, Kwan caught Wulf with a real smile on his face, and it made his own smile widen. Wulf was enjoying this moment of running free as much as Kwan was. When he thought about it, Kwan guessed this was the sort of thing that Wulf might have done with his pack before they were all murdered. That thought dampened his mood as he realized maybe Wulf was imagine his pack at his side as he ran.

Kwan skidded to a halt suddenly, glamour slipping quickly back into place to hide his unusual ears and tail. Wulf was several feet ahead of him before realizing that his running partner was no longer with him. When he turned back, his mouth pulled downward, his expression turning darker in the silence between them. Neither of them needed to speak or question the other as they listened to the movement around them. Someone was approaching, using stealth to sneak up on them, but the soft footfalls and faint crunch of dried leaves on the ground gave the person away to those with superior hearing.

"We should keep moving," Wulf said, walking back over to Kwan to take his hand. The happy mood from mere moments ago evaporated as the werewolf became serious.

His gaze swept over the forest as the sound of a string being drawn back reached his ear. Kwan turned to warn the werewolf, but Wulf was already pulling him out of the way, twisting them around so that his body shielded Kwan from any attack. An arrow whistled through the air past them before the tip buried itself into a tree with a thunk. Kwan stared at the arrow jutting out of the tree as fear squeezed his chest, thinking they ran right into the danger that fae warned them about at the bonfire. But it sounded like this hunter was alone, not the pair of hunters mentioned earlier.

"Get out of here," Wulf ordered, shoving the raven haired man away as he turned to face off against the hunter.

Mouth thinning angrily, Kwan grabbed onto the werewolf's arm and narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm not completely defenseless, you know," he growled lowly. He knew he probably came off looking like some helpless pup that couldn't even fend for itself. Skulker had the amazing ability of knowing exactly what to say to push Kwan off the cliff and make him feel like he had no hope of being saved. Until Wulf and Danny and the rest stepped in. He could fight, he didn't like to, really preferred not to, but he could and he would if those he cared about were in danger.

At the whistle of a second arrow, they split apart, dodging the attack. That seemed to end the argument before it could even start. Wulf didn't try to make him leave again, and Kwan followed the werewolf's lead as he tracked toward the hunter. Frowning, Kwan wasn't sure it was the wisest plan to run _at_ the hunter trying to kill them, but if they ran away, the hunter would only follow after them. Disarming or disabling the hunter would at least give them a greater chance of escape.

When a third arrow flew through the air at them, Wulf dodged easily while Kwan jumped into the nearest tree, catching the lowest branch and swinging himself up onto it. As he crouched low on the branch, Kwan scanned the forest floor, seeking the hunter. The attacks, he noticed, seemed focused on Wulf. Even as he remained stationary on the tree branch, no attack was aimed in his direction. He blinked, back straightening as it occurred to him that the hunter only cared about Wulf. The hunter wasn't looking to take out any old fae or supernatural creature running around the forest. Wulf was the target.

Kwan spotted the hunter, dressed in black from head to toe and trying to blend into the shadows to remain hidden. Another arrow was knotted, bowstring pulling back as the hunter took aim at Wulf circling around on the prowl to attack. His eyes darted between them before he finally made his decision. Before the hunter could release the bowstring and fire the arrow, Kwan leaped out of the tree. He slammed into the hunter, tackling the archer to the ground. A grunt sounded close to his ear, and the feel of the body beneath him suggested the hunter was female. A fist clubbed him hard in the ear, deafening his hearing on that side with the painful blow. Kwan reeled back with a hand clapped over his ear as he winced, a disorienting sensation making his head feel dizzy. In a second, a flash of movement that he couldn't quite follow, his back hit the ground as a weight held him down, a knife pressing into his throat.

"Kwan?" The woman's voice sounded as surprised as Kwan felt at that moment when he recognized it, realizing at once who was behind the black mask. His eyes grew wide as his mouth hung open, struggling to find some word to respond with, but Kwan felt numbed with shock of Valerie being there, hunting them.

"Get off him!" Wulf shouted, dragging the weight off the other man.

"You!" Valerie growled, her voice filled with rage. Her bow lay abandoned after being tackled, but she still had a knife in her hand. She drove the blade backward into Wulf's abdomen, forcing the werewolf to release her as he growled his pain, eyes flashing with fury. Twisting around to face her target, Valerie switched her hold on the knife, ready to strike again at the man in front of her. "I swear if you turned him, I'm going to make your death a thousand times worse!"

Kwan reacted quickly as he saw the blade flash in the darkness, already slick with dark blood. On his feet in an instant, he darted in between the two, his friends, as his hand wrapped around the blade of the knife. He winced as the sharp edge cut into his hand, but he held on, stopping Valerie from thrusting the knife again into the wounded werewolf.

"He bit you, didn't he?" Valerie demanded, still trying to drive the knife forward toward Wulf. "That's why you've been glued to his side lately. He bit you and you're part of his evil pack now."

"Stop it, Valerie!" Kwan gritted his teeth as he wrench the knife free from her hand. "He didn't bite me, and he's not evil. Why do you have such a beef with him anyway? What has he ever done to you?"

"He killed my mother!" Valerie screamed in his face. She reached up to rip off the mask, revealing the anger and pain in her eyes as she glared at him. "He killed her, and I'm going to kill him." She pointed a finger past Kwan to Wulf, who held a hand to his bleeding side.

"Your mother, your _family_ ," Wulf growled with equal rage, "killed my pack. They slaughtered them all without cause. There were children among those killed. Kids who weren't even six yet, and they were cut down for no reason. I didn't mean to kill anyone, but they ambushed us. I was just trying to survive. I fought back in self defense."

Valerie scoffed, snorting at his words. "Do you think I'm going to fall for your sad sap story?" Her eyes narrowed coldly.

Kwan quickly held her back when Valerie tried to get around him to attack Wulf again. "Stop!" he shouted as he gripped her arms tightly. With a sharp shake, he got her to turn her gaze to him. "Skulker set you up to this, didn't he?"

Some of the anger left her expression as Valerie stared at him. "Yeah, he told me about where the fae gathered for the winter solstice." Her brow creased as she frowned.

"Don't you get it?" Kwan released his hold on her when it seemed like she wasn't going to attack again. "He's using you. He's using your desire to seek revenge to kill Wulf. You're doing his dirty work, and while you'll get punished for your actions, he gets away scot free. You kill Wulf, and that's one less person he has to fight through to get to me."

Hesitation flashed in Valerie's eyes, still locked on Kwan. She cared about him, and she never liked the way Skulker stalked around her friend, harassing him. She mentioned it several times to Kwan how much she hated Skulker. "He killed my mother," she finally said, her eyes turning cold again.

"And you want to be like her? Fueled with rage and killing innocents? Can you live with the blood of young children on your hands because of your hate for the supernatural?" Kwan scrambled to find some angle to get through to Valerie before she tried again to kill Wulf.

"I believe we all need to have a chat."

All three of them tensed up at that familiar voice. Kwan cringed, shoulders hunching as a trickle of fear ran down his spine. Not wanting to look, not wanting to turn around, he forced his head to twist toward the speaker and paled when his eyes landed on their principal. Dark blue eyes stared down the man's nose as Masters frowned at the little gathering. Kwan flicked his gaze toward Wulf, who still clutched at his wound as blood spilled between his fingers. He should have realized the moment Wulf was injured that Masters would know and come to protect his charge.

"There are some things that I should explain," Masters continued, his dark gaze narrowing at Valerie. "But first, we should take this to a more private setting." He took hold of Valerie's arm, probably thinking she would make another attempt on Wulf's life if he didn't keep a close watch on her.

"Are you okay?" Kwan asked worriedly, trailing after Masters and Valerie as he walked beside Wulf. He could still smell flesh blood, though from the look of things, the bleeding was slowing.

"Werewolves have healing abilities," Wulf explained, his gaze focused on Valerie. "It should be gone in a few more minutes."

"Oh, right." Kwan glanced away, feeling silly for having forgotten about that.

Wulf tore his gaze away from watching Valerie as they neared a car parked just beyond the edge of the forest. "Kitsune don't have that ability?" He took Kwan's right hand, ignoring the way the raven haired man winced and hissed as the werewolf uncurled the hand to get a better look at the damage. It stung as the cold winter air washed over the slits on his fingers. "I'm not going to have constantly bandage you up, am I?" His green eyes held a hint of amusement as he glanced up at the other man.

"Well, since I won't be under the care of the Longs anymore," Kwan mumbled, lowering his gaze in embarrassment. Heat rose to his cheeks as Wulf wrapped his handkerchief around the injured hand. "If I have the ability to heal, it's not regenerating like you. I haven't really learned a whole lot yet."

"Get in the car," Masters ordered with an impatient tap of his foot. "We can all talk more later."

Wulf ushered Kwan into the car, climbing in after the other man. Valerie sat in the front seat, fuming angrily with her arms folded as she glared out the front window. The drive to their destination was tense and quiet, leaving Kwan anxious to get away from this whole situation, if not for the fact that Valerie was trying to kill Wulf. His eyes lowered to the handkerchief around his hand, the white bleeding red in some spots. The cuts were painful, but he experienced worse injuries in the past.

"Why are we at Lancer's house?" Valerie demanded, yanking Kwan's attention back to his surroundings.

"Since I'm mostly bound to the school during the day, it seems rather silly for me to own a home," Masters explained as he parked the car in front of the house. "And I figured you all would prefer a nice, comfortable environment to speak in, rather than being dragged into the principal's office."

Kwan agreed that the principal's office probably wouldn't have made this talk any less uncomfortable than it already would be. Sighing tiredly, he followed everyone else out of the car and up to the front door. When Masters opened the front door with his own key, Kwan decided that was something he didn't want to ask about. Maybe it was simply that Masters stayed at the homes of certain faculty members whenever he needed a change from being locked away at the high school, and right now during winter break when no one else would be around the high school, Masters probably experienced some loneliness.

"I don't know what you want to talk about," Valerie grumbled as Masters showed them all into the front room of the house. Kwan lifted his gaze to the ceiling, guessing that Wulf probably noticed the other heartbeats coming from the second floor as well. "But nothing you say is going to stop me from taking my revenge. I don't care what the stupid council decides to do with me so long as I can take his life the way he took my mother's." Valerie pointed at Wulf, glowering at him with cold green eyes.

"I'm well aware of the story you were told." Masters forced Valerie to take a seat in one of the chairs. Then he stood up straight, folding his arms as he stared down at her. "However, Wulf did not murder your mother."

"Of course he did!" Valerie argued as she gripped the arms of the chair tightly.

Wulf disappeared for a brief moment, returning with a first aid kit. Kwan stared at him, wondering how the werewolf knew exactly where to find it. When Wulf pulled him over to the sofa and took his hand, Kwan didn't fight it, allowing the other man take care of his injury. Wulf focused his attention on the man's hand, but Kwan could see some anger in his expression. Wulf was struggling to hold back a furious outburst at Valerie.

"No, Valerie, he didn't." Masters sighed when Valerie clearly wasn't believing him. "It's true that Wulf attacked her in his attempts to escape the hunters that ambushed his family. But the damage he did wasn't enough to actually kill her. She was stabbed through the chest by one of your relatives that was trying to kill Wulf and missed, hitting her by accident. After Lancer rescued Wulf and took him away, they must have realized their error, but it was too late to save her. She was already dead by then." His expression twisted with anger, mouth pursing and eyes narrowing. "They ripped her chest open, trying to make it look like a werewolf tore into her to hide the truth. When the council came for them, your family showed them her body and claimed the werewolves did it to explain their actions in killing off a pack of werewolves when they had no cause. Wulf's family has lived here for many generations in peace, never attacking humans, never killing. Your family came to our town hungry to slaughter anything supernatural that they could find. I had hoped that removing them from town, from your influence, might save you from walking down a path of anger and hatred." Masters frowned at her.

Kwan watched the emotions play over Valerie's face. Anger to confusion to disbelief then rage flashed in her eyes.

"Why should I believe you?" Valerie demanded with a twisted sneer upon her face. "You're just a damn vampire. Of course you're going to take the werewolf's side."

Masters sighed tiredly before stepping away. When he returned, he held out a file to her. "This is everything from that night," he explained as she took to manila folder from him.

No one spoke as Valerie read through everything in the manila folder, glanced over every picture attached to the pages. The rage was slow to leave her eyes, and her mouth parted slightly as shock and horror came over her. She finally saw the truth in what Masters told her. When she glanced up at their principal, she was at a loss for words for several moments.

"But why didn't you just tell me all this from the beginning?" Valerie questioned in a softer voice.

"Because I hoped you wouldn't be dragged into your family's problems," Masters explained, sounding aged and tired. "Your father is still clueless about everything, and I hoped that you would remain ignorant of the truth, but I suppose the hunters in your family told you the lie about Wulf killing your mother before they were banned from here."

Valerie frowned sadly as she lowered her gaze. "My uncle left me a letter explaining about the werewolf attack that killed her." Her expression looked even more miserable. "I guess they hoped I would become a hunter too and finish off the remaining werewolf from that pack. I was duped by them. I was duped by Skulker. Everything I've believed these last three years was a lie."

Masters took the file from Valerie's loose hold before everything could spill out of the manila folder. "Perhaps, but you're still young and you can turn things around. If you're still interested in hunting down the supernatural, you can work with the council to deal with those that are a threat to the humans. But you'll have to understand that it wouldn't give you license to kill innocent creatures. You'd have to have evidence of their misdeeds before you can capture or kill them." Masters glanced her over and smirked a little. "And I'm sure your skills would be appreciated among the council."

"I don't know," Valerie said uncertainly, shaken by the new revelation behind her mother's death. "I'd have to think about it. A normal life might be better."

"Of course. It's always your decision." Masters turned his attention to the two young men, and Kwan felt every muscle in his body tense up. He finally got up the courage to tell the truth to Wulf, but Kwan wasn't sure he wanted it all out in the open with their principal. "I believe there is something you need to tell us." His dark blue eyes narrowed at Kwan, who felt like the man was piercing right into his soul to find the truth.

When a hand squeezed his, Kwan glanced over to see Wulf giving him an encouraging look. He sighed, shoulders sagging. This wasn't how he planned on the night going, none of it was, but he couldn't change what happened. "I'm," he stared at Valerie, part of him realizing that he would probably have to say this a few more times to his other friends, "a kitsune."

"What?" Valerie shrieked as she shot out of the chair, making Kwan wince and shrink away. "How did that happen?" Her expression became puzzled. "Is it like a werewolf thing? You got bit and now you're one of them?"

Kwan shook his head. "Always been one. I just never knew it until recently." He sighed, not really wanting to retell the details after he did that only a while ago with Wulf. He shrugged as he glanced away. "I'm still the same Kwan you've always known, just not as human as you thought I was."

"You're still hiding something." Masters kept with that piercing stare. "Skulker wouldn't be so interested in you just because you're a kitsune. That's not a rare enough find for him to want you for his collection."

"It is when I'm the only black one in existence," Kwan pointed out as his gaze drifted between Valerie and Masters. When his principal took a sudden seat on the coffee table with a stunned look on his face, Kwan knew he understood the significance. The vampire probably had to learn a lot about various species when he accepted the role of principal at Casper High where he would be required to watch over a wide variety of supernatural beings.

Valerie didn't look at all impressed by the comment. "I don't like it," she said, folding her arms over her chest. The frown on her face sent a miserable feeling curling inside Kwan. He didn't want to lose her as a friend, but he wouldn't be surprised if she decided to distance herself from him after learning the truth. "First the cover up about my mother's death. Now this?"

Kwan could see it on her face. All the truths coming out all at once was too much for her to handle at one time. "I promise you, Valerie, I never knew about this until Skulker showed up. And I didn't tell you anything because, well," he frowned, dropping his gaze to the floor, "I didn't want to lose you. I felt lonely enough already. I didn't you abandoning me as well."

"God, Kwan!" Valerie crossed the distance and grabbed hold of his face, forcing him to look up at her. "Do you really think I'm such an ass that I wouldn't still be your friend? You are such a big idiot sometimes." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Kwan laughed, almost wanting to cry at the fact that he was an idiot, as he hugged her. He was relieved that she wasn't cutting him out of her life after this.


	25. Chapter 25

Dash hung up his phone after he finished telling Paulina about what happened after they found the location of the fae's solstice celebration. Paulina pouted about the fact that he didn't call them sooner to tell them, but she was relieved to know that none of the fae were captured. Dash, at least, was assuming that one that lured Danny's parents away managed to figure out some way to escape.

"Well, Sam wasn't happy," Danny announced with a sigh. "And they're heading back to the hotel now. They were supposed to be back hours ago so they can pack. They're supposed to start the drive back to Wisconsin tomorrow since their parents want to spend Christmas with their families." He scratched a hand through his raven locks in a show of frustration. "I didn't even get to spend that much time with them. I mean, just hanging out, not doing this whole hunt down the fae thing. Though I guess that's the kind of thing Sam expects us to do together anyway. But I kind of thought when they showed up here, we'd get to just kick back and relax, hang out like normal teenagers for once."

"Unfortunately, you're no normal teenager." The man's voice made both of them tense up in surprise.

Dash didn't even hear any thoughts of the person suddenly appearing behind them. The man's heavy hands landed upon their shoulders, and before either of them could react, Dash felt a wrenching sensation, like something hooked around his navel with a hard jerk. The world became a blur of colors as he felt like he was being stretched thin and sucked through an impossibly small tube that left every joint in his body aching from the odd pressure. When everything snapped back to normal with the feeling of having whiplash and the world painfully returning to normal, Dash stumbled on shaky legs. He was thankful there was something to sit down on as both he and Danny collapsed onto the foot of the bed in the room where they magically appeared.

"Lancer!" Danny shouted in shock once he recovered from the sudden teleportation from the forest to the bedroom of what Dash could only guess was Lancer's house. "How did you know where to find us?"

Lancer stared down his nose at them, green eyes narrowing in that teacher way he had as he folded his arms. "Are you forgetting that oath already?" An eyebrow quirked upward toward his bald head. "We were alerted the moment you were injured." His gaze focused on the darkening bruise around Danny's nose. "What were you two doing in the forest this late at night?"

"Danny heard his parents were going on a hunt for this winter solstice thing," Dash explained, raking a hand through his blond locks. Beside him, Danny gingerly touched his nose, wincing and hissing at the tenderness of it. "So we went to stop them from capturing any of the fae, and," Dash waved at Danny.

"You thought it was a great idea to run face first into a dangerous situation that didn't call for you to stick your nose into?" Lancer inquired with the thinning of his mouth, giving off that usual aura he had at school whenever a student got into trouble.

"My parents were moments away from stumbling through the veil and finding all those fae," Danny argued, hopping off the bed with an angry look in his eyes. "Were we supposed to just sit back and allow them to capture one of them? Maybe more than one of them?"

"Daniel," Lancer sighed as he placed his hands on Danny's shoulders, "you should have come to us the moment you learned about this. We could have taken steps to prevent anything from happening without you having to endanger yourself or your friends. We do have members of the fae on our staff. Spectra could have warned them prior to the celebration."

Dash was still shaking his head over that fact. "I can't believe I never picked up her being a fae. I always knew there was something weird about her."

"Yes, well, she makes sure to keep her thoughts quiet around you." Lancer tore his gaze from Danny to stare at Dash, who shifted under the teacher's gaze. Lancer simply had a way of making his students uncomfortable with a simple look. "She's a parasitic type fae, feeding on the negative emotions of her students. Their angst and anger keep her looking young and beautiful."

"And they actually let her be a counselor here?" Dash gaped at Lancer, still processing this new information about Spectra.

"Before she came here, she worked at a high school in another town," Lancer explained as pained expression pulled his mouth downward. "She fed on one boy's emotions a little too much and he ended up committing suicide. She still feels horrible over the incident. It's a part of her nature to feed like that, and like other creatures, when it comes to feeding, sometimes it's impossible for them to control themselves. It's like when a vampire bites someone and can't help but drain their victim dry. She didn't do it intentionally and regrets it every day that it happened. She does care for the students she treats, but her nature makes it hard for her to control it sometimes. That's why the council sent her here where we can keep watch over her and stop her if she feeds too much on a student's angst. A small sampling here and there should be enough to sustain her for quite some time without endangering the lives of any of the students."

Dash frowned at the story. He never had much reason to visit Spectra for counseling, though he sometimes spotted the students that left her office looking more miserable than when they entered. He supposed that was part of the effect of having a parasitic fae feeding on their emotions. The fact that Spectra could drive someone to commit suicide was a scary thing to learn, but Dash guessed that there had to be some truth to her regretting having done that if Spectra wasn't punished far worse by the council.

"So," Danny said slowly as some thought turned over in his head, "Masters is a vampire. Does that mean he sometimes feeds on people? Not enough to drain them but just a little taste here and there?" His brow knitted, the thoughts of being grossed out but somewhat curious mixing in his head. Dash stared at him before he shifted his blue eyed gaze onto their teacher. He never heard anything about people waking up after being attacked with bite marks, and that seemed like something that might leak out to the human population if Masters wasn't careful about his actions.

Lancer shook his head. "He drinks blood packages that we purchase from the hospital." He placed his hand to his bearded chin with a thoughtful expression. "The council only made him promise never to kill or turn someone when they allowed him to live after discovering him. They never said anything about him not being allowed to feed upon a willing person so long as he didn't drain them."

"I think I'm little grossed out by this topic," Dash said, rubbing at his face and feeling incredibly thankful that Lancer mastered how to keep his thoughts hidden from a telepath. He really didn't want to know what thoughts were floating in his head about being bitten by a vampire. A shudder ran down his spine.

Lancer's eyes narrowed again as he glanced between the pair of men. "I do hope next time that you'll think about coming to us for help before taking on something dangerous by yourselves." His gaze landed on Danny, who gulped. "Even if you have been through a lot of stuff already, that doesn't mean you have to continue going it alone." Lancer's gaze lowered, focusing on Danny's chest, and Dash glared, not liking the way their teacher was looking at Danny. "I believe there's more to this whole tale than simply that you went to stop your parents from finding the fae."

Danny swallowed with nervousness as his bright blue eyes flicked toward Dash. "I should probably explain something first."

A look passed between teacher and student, and Dash felt a rising anger inside him at this shared secret between the two men that he apparently didn't get to be a part of. When Danny sat down beside him again, Dash frowned, brow drawing together as he watched the raven haired man's every movement. Danny closed off his thoughts to keep Dash from hearing anything prematurely. Lancer stood by silently, allowing Danny to say whatever it was he needed to tell Dash.

Taking a deep breath, Danny closed his eyes as he squeezed his hands around his knees. "I didn't just die," he said in a quiet voice, and a sense of dread for whatever else Danny had to say washed over Dash. "That night, I was attacked," his brow creased, pain in his expression, "by an incubus. It-" he struggled with the word, but with a cold sensation settling in the pit of his stomach, Dash had an idea of what he was going to say. "It raped me. Before it could finish the job though, Tucker and Sam called out, and the incubus got scared off, cutting me open before it fled."

Even if he guessed it, hearing the words leaving Danny's mouth remained shocking. Dash stared at the man beside him with pain in his dark blue eyes. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Danny felt after going through a terrible experience like that, being raped and killed then brought back to life. Now the whole urge to cut himself made a little more sense in Dash's mind. That whole event must have been incredibly overwhelming to Danny, all the pain and suffering, and Dash didn't even know what it must feel like to be yanked out of his afterlife and crammed back into his body like that.

"Danny," Dash murmured softly as he snaked an arm around the other man. When Danny didn't jerk away or start freaking out over being touched, Dash drew him closer, wrapping his arms around Danny and drawing him into a comforting embrace. "I'm sorry you ever had to go through something like that." There were no real words he could say to erase any of Danny's pain. Dash knew only time and patience could help Danny move on, and the fact that Danny was actually talk about it now was a big step forward.

"That's not all," Danny confessed, his voice holding only a hint of relief at the fact that Dash didn't shove him away like something disgusting and broken. That simple statement, though, left Dash with the feeling of being punched through the chest, trying to imagine what more Danny could tell him after the rape and dying. "The magic used to bring me back," Danny chewed on his lip with his head lowered, "it came with a cost."

"What?" Dash asked numbly, not sure how to take that news. Hadn't Danny suffered enough already without adding some stupid price on top of it all?

"I suppose that price finally decided to make itself known," Lancer said with a severe frown on his face.

Danny bobbed his head in a miserable nod. "My dad had me by the arm, and I was panicking. I was seconds away from being discovered, and I didn't know what to do. Then suddenly, I was no longer in control. I don't know what happened or what I did, but somehow I shoved the thing out of me." He placed a hand over his chest as he looked up at Lancer. "If you hadn't written that protection spell on me, I probably would have been taken over again by it."

"By what exactly?" Dash demanded in confusion, fear for Danny's life coiling tightly inside him. They already had enough to deal with trying to protect Kwan from Skulker for whatever bizarre reason the alien had for wanting the jock without adding Danny's life being threatened on top of that. When Danny couldn't answer, they both turned their gaze on Lancer, who remained silent for some time as he frowned at what Danny said.

"My best guess is that when you were brought back to life, a shade attached itself to you," Lancer explained, the gears grinding in his head to work out what exactly was after Danny.

"What's a shade?" Danny asked the same question racing in Dash's head.

"A generic term." Lancer waved it off like the meaning wasn't all that important. "It's like a ghost, many of the shades generally get trapped between worlds, like being stuck in limbo. I'm guessing the dark place you mentioned before was where this particular shade was trapped. When you suddenly appeared there, it saw you as a means of escaping that place, finally breaking free of the limbo that held it powerless. When your friend's magic pulled you out and back into your body, the shade clung onto your soul, but then it was trapped inside you. I can't explain its reason for not showing itself earlier. Perhaps arriving in this world weakened it and it was unable to function until it was given time to grow stronger. And that moment of desperate panic you felt earlier gave it the right moment to finally seize control."

"Well, it's free now," Dash said, but his mouth drew downward, not thinking that point made anything about the situation better. "Why would it need to bother with Danny now? It's not stuck in limbo anymore." In his arms, Dash felt Danny stiffen, every muscle tensing.

"Because it's still just a shade," Lancer answered, mirroring Dash's frown. "And likely, Danny is the only thing that it can actually touch, the only one that can actually see it. It needs Danny to function within this world. It needs Danny to actually remain in this world. It'll keep coming for Danny because it's desperate to remain living here in this world."

"What about the protection spell?" Hope crept into Danny's voice, but doubt tried to crush it out. "It worked before."

"It was a onetime thing." Lancer shook his head. "It was meant only for an emergency, and now that it's been used, it won't work again for you. I'm not sure there's anything else that can protect you from the shade. You're best hope is to fight it off, and since you're the only one that will be able to see it, you'll be alone in this fight."

Danny tried to keep his thoughts quiet, but he wasn't as skilled at it as Lancer. The flickers of doubt and fear screamed out in his head, reaching to Dash, who squeezed an arm around the other man. "I don't want this thing hurting you," Dash said as Danny remained quietly stewing in his thoughts. "There has to be something we can do to help him." He turned his gaze onto Lancer, hoping their teacher might have some idea being a witch.

Lancer folded his arms, deep in thought about spells and other witchcraft things. "This house is protected from most evil beings. It might stand against the shade. But," he turned his gaze to Danny, "I doubt you want to be trapped forever in this house. I'm sure that would only stir up more questions with your parents."

"Yeah," Danny mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck as he frowned at the floor. "I guess fighting this shade thing is my only option." But he didn't sound very eager at the prospect. He lifted his blue eyes to Lancer. "How long will his protection last?" He pointed at his chest where Lancer apparently wrote the spell.

"After being activated, it'll last for at most twenty-four hours before the effects fade away," Lancer explained.

The shriek from downstairs made Danny jump while Dash jerked in surprise, not having realized anyone else was in the house. Dash always assumed that Lancer lived alone, though that whole talk involving their principal made him question that now, and he preferred not having those thoughts in his head. They both turned a questioning look to their teacher, who sighed as he ran a hand over his face, looking exhausted in that moment.

"I suppose we should go downstairs to see how things are progressing with your friends," Lancer said, leading the way toward the door of the bedroom.

At the word friends, Dash glanced toward Danny, meeting his bright blue eyes. The same thought must have played through their minds because together, they shouted, "Wulf and Kwan!" They scrambled off the bed and followed Lancer down the stairs to the first floor of the house. Danny failed to keep his mind closed off, but his thoughts echoed the panic running through Dash's mind. If Wulf and Kwan turned up here, something horrible could have happened to them.

"You are such a big idiot sometimes." Dash and Danny came in just at the end of the conversation as the woman that Dash recognized from school as Valerie hugged Kwan.

"I get the feeling we missed something," Dash mumbled to Danny, who nodded his agreement.

"Just young Mr. Long finally telling us the reason for why Skulker is so determined to add him to his collection," Masters explained, drawing Dash's attention to the fact that man was there. The man walked over and took a seat in one of the open chairs while Valerie moved to sit beside of Kwan. Wulf occupied the other side, and Dash raised an eyebrow at this new development. From what he saw at school, Dash was fairly certain that Wulf and Valerie didn't get along.

"And what reason is that?" Danny asked with a curious glance toward the jock.

"You might as well just tell them," Masters said as his dark blue eyes pierced into Kwan, who sat with his shoulders hunched up and his head bow.

Kwan's eyes darted between the two people seated beside him, hesitating to reveal the truth. He released a breath, his shoulders drooping as some of the tension melted out of him. Dash stared and waited for the man to talk. Danny reacted first, stumbling over to where Kwan sat on the sofa. With his mouth gaping over, Danny bent down before the jock.

"I've only read brief mentions of a black kitsune," Danny announced in amazement as he reached out tentatively to run his fingers over a black furry ear that Dash realized with a great shock was protruding from atop Kwan's head. "I always thought it was just some myth that not even the other kitsune believed anymore. I never thought there'd actually be one alive today!"

A smile twitched at Kwan's mouth at the utter excitement and awe in Danny's voice. "Now you understand why Skulker wants me," he said sadly, not bothering to shove away Danny's hand as the other man scratched at the ear like the jock was a cat or a dog.

"That explains how you do that whole disappearing act," Dash exclaimed, pointing a finger at the jock. Kwan lifted his head as a sneaky smirk flashed across his face. Dash shook his head at that reaction. New information seemed to be crawling out of the woodworks tonight, and his mind was feeling overwhelmed with all the new facts about everyone. He dropped onto one of the open chairs in the room as his gaze turned to Valerie. "What's your big secret?"

"My mother was a hunter, I blamed Wulf for her death, turns out I was lied to the whole time." Valerie shrugged like she was summarizing the plot of a dull book that she was forced to read. She seemed to realize something about what she said and sat up a little straighter. "But I don't have any hate toward the supernatural," she explained quickly. "I was just angry at Wulf, and that was the only reason I started training as a hunter."

"You're not the only one with hunters in the family," Danny told her as he stood up straight, at last abandoning his interest in the jock's furry ears.

Lancer coughed, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Did you perform the oath with Kwan yet?"

Masters blinked then ran a hand through his silver hair. "I got distracted with everything that was going on," he admitted. Leaning forward, he offered out his hand toward Kwan.

"Uh," Kwan said uncertainly as he frowned at the hand, "do I have to do this?" His brow creasing, he stared up at Vlad. "I mean after tonight," he gestured at his face with a bandaged hand, drawing attention to the black eye and bust lip, "the Longs aren't going to allow me back in their house, and without their money, I don't even have a way to pay to keep going to school."

"Your parents abuse you?" Dash shouted, shooting to his feet as his eyes grew wide at the sight of Kwan's face. He didn't notice it before, too distracted with what Danny was dealing with and discovering that Kwan was actually something supernatural.

"They're not my parents," Kwan answered as his aqua green eyes narrowed with a quiet fury.

"You don't need to worry about the money," Masters said, snapping his fingers to get Kwan's attention focused back on him. "We can make arrangements to allow for you to continue attending school without having to pay for it."

"You can live with me," Valerie offered as she placed a hand on Kwan's shoulder. "My dad likes you, and I'm sure he wouldn't have any problems with you living with us."

"Oh, uh," Kwan's eyes darted toward Wulf, and Dash hid a smirk behind a hand at the look that passed between the two men. "Wulf already offered to let me live with him."

"My place isn't much. You'd probably be more comfortably living with Valerie," Wulf said as he leaned on the armrest of the sofa, turning his gaze away. Dash didn't need to read minds to know that Wulf was hoping Kwan would still pick to live with him.

"You can discuss living arrangements at another time," Masters said, curling and uncurling his fingers in a show of impatience. "There's still the matter of the oath to deal with." He waited until with an exasperated sigh Kwan took hold of his hand. "Do you promise not to use your supernatural abilities to harm another student under my watch?"

Kwan frowned at the question, eyes narrowing a fraction as he stared at their principal. "I can promise that I will not act to harm any students under your watch," he said after a long pause to think. "However, should any of those students act to harm me or anyone I care about, I won't hesitate to ignore the oath and act to protect as needed."

Dash blinked in surprise at that response, as did most of the others present. The usual response was to agree to the promise in question. Dash never considered the possibility of adding an amendment to the oath, but in freshmen year, he never expected to be placed in a position where he wanted to kick some alien ass to keep someone safe.

After a brief moment, a smirk twisted across Masters' face. "You're the first to think of that." He almost sounded proud of that fact. "In the case of self dense or to protect another from harm, you're all given the permission to act as needed. I will explain things to the council should anything of that nature occur." The remaining questions were answered with simple agreements from Kwan.

"Now, you two," Lancer pointed at Kwan and Danny, "with me. I have something that will make those bruises go away much quicker." He led the way into the kitchen, and the two men followed after him.


	26. Chapter 26

It slipped right through his hands! He had hold of something, though he couldn't see what exactly it was with all the smoke clouding the woods, but it was in his hand and it got away. He rubbed at his chest, which was still aching dully after receiving a blow of some sort from the creature. It didn't feel like a fist or foot or hoof or some other sort of limb hit him, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe it was some sort of energy. Many of the supernatural creatures he read about could use some form of magic. But whatever struck him wasn't hard enough to cause any serious injury to him.

It was the sudden flash of fire exploding between them that made him stumble away with a shout of surprise and alarm. He thought for certain it would get away after that until he felt something brush against him, darting past him and farther into the forest. A wash of coldness wrapped around him and doused the flames hungrily eating at the trees before him. He couldn't explain that, didn't pause to think too hard on it, as he turned to chase after the creature that escaped him. If he simply stood around puzzling over what put out the fire, the creature would be long gone before he could even begin to chase it.

He lost track of time while they chased after the creature that remained just within their sights, darting among the trees. Then just when he thought they were gaining on the creature, it ducked into a bush and vanished from sight. They searched all over the area only to find no hints that the creature was ever even there. He kept looking, crashing through bushes to find their quarry. What he found instead turned out to be a mud pit that left a fairly foul stench clinging to him. He tried not to breathe too much through his nose as they made their way home empty handed. Yet again. He sighed tiredly, shoulders slumping in depression at another failed hunt.

"Jack, you should head straight for the shower," Maddie said with a hand over her nose as they entered their house.

Jack miserably made his way up the stairs to the bathroom, hoping he could get the stench off him with only one washing. When he entered the bathroom, he peeled off his clothing, wondering if he should simply incinerate them now instead of trying to washing out the stench from them. After dropping them into the laundry basket in the corner, he stepped into the shower and turned on the water, blasting his body with icy cold water. He quickly adjusted the knob toward the hot side and waited for the cold water to warm. Turning around, he pressed his back against the wall and ran a hand through his dark hair that had grown white along the sides of his head.

"It's never going to happen," Jack muttered with that usually hopelessness that swept through him at times when he was alone. It was easy to continue believing that they could capture some supernatural being when he was around his wife whose enthusiasm bled into his. But when he was alone, he couldn't stop that sneaky thought that crept into his head that continuing this wild goose chase was merely madness. Even when they had come so close to capturing something, the thought merely laughed in his head, pointing out that it managed to escape them yet again.

All he wanted, ever since he was a child, was to see one of them, any supernatural being that he could find. It was a dream that his parents didn't approve of and often tried to encourage him to forget. They pushed him into sports, thinking playing something like football might take his mind off silly things like fairies and merpeople and fauns and nymphs. He learned after that not to speak about his dreams of that nature in front of his parents again. But once he entered college, Jack found other people interested in the world of the supernatural. It was how he first met Maddie. A small, fond smile spread across his face as he thought about when they first met. It wasn't love at first sight but built slowly as they discussed their shared interest.

Remembering college reminded him of his other friend at that time. Jack hadn't thought about Vlad in years, and he hadn't heard from his old friend since their trip to the back woods of Europe. He wasn't even sure if Vlad ever left Europe. For all Jack knew, Vlad was living with some clan of werebears, learning their ways and being accepted into their family. A streak of jealousy rose up in Jack at the thought that Vlad might have encountered some sort of supernatural being after he and Maddie left to return to America. The desire to try contacting Vlad hit him, but Jack realized he didn't even know how to contact his old friend. With all the moving around his family did, Vlad would have no way of contacting him either. That set a new wave of depression crashing over him with the heat of the water from the shower.

Jack scrubbed his body clean, rubbing furiously with soap and body lotion and anything else he could find within the shower to erase or mask the stench. After his flesh started feeling raw from the effort, he decided that would have to do, and hopefully most of the stench would be gone. He dried off then wrapped the towel around his body as he left the bathroom and headed toward his bedroom to get dressed in fresh, clean, not stinky clothes. Once dressed, he headed back downstairs, craving a snack after the failure of a night.

The front door opened as he hit the bottom of the stairs. Jack paused, watching quietly as his son tried to sneak into the house, carefully closing the door behind him so as not to make a sound. Then his bright blue eyes flicked upward, and Danny froze, the color draining out of his face as he stared at his father.

"Uh, I was, um," Danny stumbled over his words as he sought some excuse to explain why he was out after curfew.

Jack raised an eyebrow at his son, his darker blue eyes narrowing half a fraction as he watched the jittery manner of his son's behavior. Danny was definitely hiding something. "You went to see that boy," he said, not thinking it needed to be a question, especially as a soft blush rose to his son's cheeks.

"Dash?" Danny laughed weakly, shaking his head. "Why would you think that? No, no, I was, uh - Dora! Dora called and wanted to meet. You know play stuff, maybe date," he rolled his hand in a funny gesture as the words turned over in his head, "like things."

Jack narrowed his eyes down at Danny, who gulped nervously seeing that his father wasn't buying the obvious lie. "I believe you're just in time for a family meeting." He dropped a hand onto Danny's shoulder and guided him toward the kitchen. "And a snack! I hope we still have some of that fudge left." He grinned at the thought of fudge, his favorite.

"Family meeting?" Danny echoed as his voice cracked. "What for? Is this really necessary?" He held a hand over his nose, trying to be subtle about it, but Jack knew the shower didn't fully help rid him of the stench.

"Yes, it really is." Jack forced Danny to take a seat at the kitchen table before he walked over toward the door to the basement. "Family meeting," he bellowed down the stairs to Maddie, who was no doubt tinkering with something in the laboratory. After that, he walked over to the counter where he kept a tin of fudge that he carried over to the table with a smile on his face. His stomach rumbled in happy agreement that he definitely needed to resupply his body with lots of fudge. Popping the tin open, Jack slid it over to Danny, letting him choose the first piece.

"Why do we need to have this family meeting?" Danny asked with worry clouding his expression as he picked out a random hunk of fudge. "Is this because I came in after curfew? Because if it is, I promise it won't happen again."

Jack shook his head. "No," he answered, selecting a particularly large looking piece of fudge, "though I will have to ground you for the rest of the winter break."

"The whole break?" Danny exclaimed, the piece of fudge nearly falling out of his hand as he lifted it to his mouth. His expression looked like he thought the world was ending with that simple sentence, but Jack wouldn't change his mind on the punishment. At some point, they needed to be firm as parents or Danny would think he could get away with anything.

"What is this about being grounded for the whole break?" Maddie questioned as she entered the kitchen. "And family meeting?" She frowned at the two men as she folded her arms.

"Yes, Danny broke curfew," Jack answered simply then popped the piece of fudge into his mouth. "Therefore, he needs to be punished."

"The whole break seems a bit harsh," Maddie said, still frowning as she sat at the table with them. "Perhaps he could do a few hours of chores a day then let him have a bit of fun with his friends."

Jack pursed his lips, not happy with the amendment to his punishment, but one glance at Danny's hopeful look cracked his resolve to stand unmovable on his position. "All right. You can have three hours each day to spend time with your friends. But one minute longer, and it's total grounding until the end of the break." He could make a minor compromise, and the happy look that spread onto Danny's face at that amendment tugged at his mouth, threatening to force a smile onto his face despite his efforts to keep with the "bad cop" facade in this whole conversation.

"I hardly think doling out a punishment for breaking curfew warrants a family meeting." Maddie stared at her husband as she drummed her fingers impatiently on the tabletop.

"I've called this family meeting to deal with a situation that's been ignored for far too long now," Jack explained in a serious tone that surprised his family. He didn't often have cause to act this seriously before his family, and he knew sometimes his enthusiasm led to him looking foolish, like a bumbling idiot. But this matter was serious, and he couldn't ignore it any longer. "Maddie, you have to accept that our son is gay." He landed a stern glare at his wife while Danny gawked at his father.

"But he's dating Dora," Maddie said like she couldn't understand his meaning.

"No, he's lying to keep you from constantly trying to set him up with girls." Jack sighed tiredly. "Maddie, don't you understand that you're trying to change him into something he's not? No matter how many times you try to set him up with some girl, it's not going to change the fact that he likes boys. Doesn't this sound at all familiar to you? How my parents tried to drive out my interest in the supernatural? The way _your_ parents tried to force you to be more girly when all you wanted to do was mess around with inventions and science and eventually the supernatural? You're doing exactly what our parents did, and I can't watch you turn into someone as narrow minded about whom your child really is. You have to understand how this must be hurting Danny that you can't accept this part of him."

Maddie stared at him during his rant before blinking and tearing her eyes away to gaze across the table at her son. It hit her then, her hands flying to cover her mouth as her violet eyes grew wide with shock. "Oh, I've become my parents!" she gasped, horrified by the sudden revelation. "Oh, I tried so hard to not be like them, but I still ended up being like them." She got up from her seat and walked around the table to draw the shocked and stunned silent Danny into her arms. "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't realize sooner!"

"It's okay, Mom," Danny said nervously, stiffly trying to pull away from the awkward embrace. "Really, it's fine."

"No, it's not!" Maddie argued as she stood up straight with her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't have had to lie to me about being involved with that girl." She gazed down miserably at her son. "I should have been able to accept you for who you are instead of trying to force you to be someone else. You should be able to come to us and tell us anything, but now you probably feel like you can't share anything with us because I couldn't accept you as gay."

Danny's gaze turned away from her, and Jack didn't miss that mixture of fear and sadness clouding the bright blue of his eyes. Jack frowned at that reaction, wondering if maybe there was something more that Danny was keeping secret from them. "We've probably lost some of your trust," Jack said, dropping his gaze to the tin of fudge before him. "And I understand that you'll probably need time before you can start trusting us with anything that's going on in your life. But I want you to know that we'll always be here for you. No matter what it is, we'll always accept you as our son. And we'll always love you."

A look passed through Danny's eyes, something hesitant and still filled with fear at the thought of speaking. "I know," Danny said after a while. His gaze lifted back to Maddie still standing over him. "And don't beat yourself too badly over it. There are worse things you could have done than simply wanting to set me up on dates with girls." That sad look was back in his eyes, and it pained Jack to see that expression on his son's face.

"So you and that blond kid, what's his name?" Jack scratched his head trying to recall the name of the young man that turned up at their house a few times now. "You and he are pretty serious? Even sneaking out late at night to meet with him?"

A blush exploded over Danny's face as he ducked his head. "It's nothing serious," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed to talk about his crush with his parents.

"We should have him over for dinner sometime," Maddie said with a bright smile on her face. "We should get the chance to meet this boy that has you all flustered."

"We haven't even gone a date yet," Danny argued, his face still burning darkly with his blush. "We want to take things slow. I think the 'meeting the parents' dinner thing is moving several steps ahead of where we are in our relationship." Looking away, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Which is still just friends at this point. We haven't even discussed possibly going on a date yet."

"I'm going to agree with your mother," Jack said, happy to see the sadness in Danny's eyes evaporate the instant the conversation shifted in a new direction. "I'd like to get to know this boy better, especially if you're hoping to become more than friends with him one day."

Danny groaned, burying his head in his arms, and Jack had to smile at that, feeling like they were a simple, normal family in that moment.


	27. Chapter 27

When they left Lancer's house, an awkward silence filled the air. Dash disappeared with Danny, and that didn't really surprise her in the least bit. She saw them at school, and the two men always seemed close ever since Danny arrived at their school. It wouldn't shock her if they were dating before the winter break ended with the way they looked at each other.

But their departure left her alone with Kwan and Wulf. Valerie knew how to act around Kwan, being friends since forever, but Wulf was another story. After hating him for the last three years, blaming her mother's death on him, and even coming after him with the intent of killing him, Valerie didn't think they could magically become best friends. She didn't even know if Wulf would want to be her friend, and she honestly wouldn't blame him if he wanted nothing to do with her after everything. She felt horrible already with both her family lying to her and Skulker trying to use her to kill off Wulf, but now with the truth shown to her, Valerie had a painful crushing feeling dropping inside her.

She always put her mother up on a pedestal, remembering all the good memories with her mother. It was like thinking of a parent as immortal and completely flawless. In her mind, her mother could do no wrong and what happened to her was the fault of the evil werewolves. Now she had to deal with the truth and the fact that her mother could be a cold hearted killer, slaughtering an innocent family, even the young children just starting out their lives. It was a terrible weight burdening her shoulders that her family was responsible for killing children. It made her sick to think about, and she didn't know how to deal with it right then.

"Staying with Valerie would probably be the better choice," Wulf said, breaking the silence that fell over the three of them. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked away from them, his green eyes gazing out across the street.

Valerie could only stare at the werewolf after the comment, still surprised that he wasn't fighting to keep Kwan at his side. Jealousy boiled in her whenever she spotted the way Kwan gazed at Wulf, reminding her too much of how Danny and Dash looked at each other. She and Kwan were best friends, and Kwan was there for her, offering a shoulder to cry on, when she lost her mother. Valerie always thought maybe they would stray from the friend zone and become something more, but seeing the way her friend acted around Wulf, she could see she missed any chance she had with him. Maybe neither man was admitting their feelings to each other, but standing on the outside, Valerie wasn't blind to what was developing between them.

But maybe the fact that Wulf was willing to give Kwan up, allow him to live with his friend in a nice house, instead of dragging him off to live with him like some sort of prisoner was the reason that Valerie couldn't find it in her to completely hate him for stealing her friend. Valerie could have made her move on Kwan at any point in time, but with the fear of losing her friend if thing didn't work out, she never got up the courage. Wulf somehow broke through the shell that kept Kwan from speaking the truth about the secrets he kept even from her, his best friend. There was a sparkle of life in Kwan's aqua green eyes that Valerie hadn't seen in years whenever he looked toward Wulf. Maybe her jealousy actually stemmed from her wish that someone would look at her like that, even if that someone wasn't Kwan.

"I know you have a lot of reasons to hate me," Valerie said, frowning miserably at the sidewalk as she thought about the horrible act her family committed.

"I never hated you," Wulf confessed. "You weren't the one that killed my family. I understand your desire for revenge." The flash of anger in his eye told Valerie that he knew exactly what it felt like to want to seek vengeance on those that took away his family. "I hate those hunters in your family that did it, but I don't hate you. Maybe now that truth is out, we can put aside any anger we've had toward each other."

"That'd be nice," Valerie admitted, relief flooding her at his words, which surprised her. She didn't expect to feel so relieved that he wanted to them to get over their anger for each other. For a moment, she was lost, forgetting what she was about to say before Wulf spoke. "We have plenty of room in our house. My dad might take some convincing, but we have open rooms for both of you." It was strange offering Wulf to live in her house, but from the hesitation on Kwan's face, Valerie could see her friend was struggling with choosing between them, obviously not wanting to hurt either one's feelings by picking the other.

"I'm not penniless, you know," Wulf grumbled with that glare that suggested he thought she was looking down on him.

"That's not what she meant," Kwan cut in quickly, trying to calm the werewolf's anger. When Kwan placed a hand on his arm, some of the glower faded from Wulf's face.

With a purse of the lips, Valerie suspected only Kwan could accomplish that without getting his arm bitten off. "I just meant, that if you wanted to, you'd be welcomed to live with us. Once I convince my dad." She winced, thinking how that conversation would go. "And it would make our house feel a little less lonely. It used to be so much fuller when my mom was still alive and relatives were always visiting and coming over for dinner. Now it's just me and my dad, and sometimes he's working late so I'm all alone at dinner time."

Wulf frowned as he listened to her words. "It's lonely for me too."

"Plus he has, like, nothing in his apartment," Kwan put in, trying to lighten the depressing talk. "He seriously only has a mattress for furniture."

"I have a desk too," Wulf argued. "I could probably afford more, but I'd rather save what money I inherited from my family until I have a job to support myself with. I still have to pay for tuition, and then there's college tuition after that. I just don't want to blow it all on unnecessary things when I can get by for now with the bare minimum."

"See. Now I can't let you go back there," Valerie said, moving around behind Kwan to walk between the two men. She threw her arms over their shoulders as she smiled. "I'm sure your family wouldn't want you living like that. They'd probably want you to live in a warm home with other people caring for you."

"Care for me?" Wulf repeated, lifting one of his eyebrows at her.

"Well, I could learn in time." Valerie shrugged her shoulders. "And if Kwan likes you," she grinned at the soft blush coloring Kwan's cheeks, "then you obviously can't be all bad." She glanced between the two men, suddenly envisioning them in their animal forms, and it felt like she was adopting two lost pets and dragging them home to father, begging him to let her keep them. The image made her laugh, gaining confused looks from the two men. "You're both coming with me!"

Valerie grabbed hold of them by the wrists and pulled them along behind her as she led them to her house. The image that danced in her mind made her want to see the two of them transform. She could only imagine Kwan making the cutest little fox, though she doubted her friend wanted to be gushed over like some adorable puppy.

"This has been one strange night," Wulf muttered, shaking his head as he followed along behind her.

"And we have Skulker to thank, as strange as that is, for finally getting the truth to come out." Valerie frowned as she thought of that. "If he hadn't told me about the winter solstice, I never would have been there to attack you, and then Masters wouldn't have come and showed me the truth about what really happened to my mom." It was weird to think that she should thank him, like she owed him something, for playing a part in her learning the truth, but it didn't erase the fact that Skulker was trying to kidnap her friend like a prized trophy to place on display in his collection. That knowledge made her want to hunt him down and make certain that he would never be able to do anything to hurt her friend. Ever. Masters didn't make her take the oath since she was merely human, but Valerie doubted it would acceptable for her to attack Skulker without sufficient evidence to prove her actions were needed, even if almost everyone could see the way Skulker stalked Kwan.

"This isn't the end though," Kwan mumbled as they neared Valerie's house. That sadness clouded his eyes like it did ever since Skulker arrived in Amity Park. "His plan with you might not have gone as he wanted, but he'll think up some other way to break through you all to get to me. He'll employ some other creature to take out those around me. He's not going to stop now that he has his sights on me."

"He can try all he likes, but we're not letting him take you away," Wulf growled with fierce determination.

"If he thinks we're pushovers, then he's sadly mistaken," Valerie added as she unlocked the front door of her house. "Let him send whatever vicious monsters he can find, I'll kick all their asses." She held the door open for the two men to enter.

"And don't forget," Wulf said as he glanced around the front hall of Valerie's house as she closed the door behind them. "There's everyone at our lunch group that will put up a fight to protect you from Skulker." He poked a finger at the middle of Kwan's forehead. "You better not be forgetting that there are people here that care about you."

"I'm not!" Kwan shouted, though it sounded a little like he was still trying to convince himself of that.

"I'm still a little mad that you never told me anything about what was happening to you," Valerie said, folding her arms as she frowned at her friend.

"It didn't feel like I could." Kwan raked a hand through his hair. "The abuse was happening ever since I could remember, and there was always that fear that it would only be worse if I told anyone, and thinking that no one would believe me. The Longs had that perfect little family appearance that they've got the whole town believing in. They probably would have laughed it off as me just trying to get attention with tall tales if I said anything."

"Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore, so you better start talking the next time something's going on," Valerie said, ruffling his hair with both hands. "No more secret keeping for you, idiot."

"You're not going to start making me tell my whole life story now, are you?" Kwan cracked a small smile.

"No, but I'll want to see you all foxed out." Valerie grinned widely as he turned an awkward look away from her.

"I'd be interested in seeing that as well," Wulf said with curiosity in his eyes.

Kwan glanced between them before he sighed. "It's really not all that impressive. And what if your dad catches us?"

"Oh, don't worry about him." Valerie waved off the concern. "He's busy at work. Another late night. Crimes don't solve themselves after all."

With some reluctance, Kwan consented to transforming in front of them. His body shifted and shrank, and Valerie found she could only gape in awe as she watched him change into the full form of a fox, slightly smaller than an average dog. His fur was jet black like when he showed off his ears at Lancer's house, but his eyes remained the same aqua green as in his human form. His long tail was bushy near his butt, and as it extended toward the tip, it became wispy and shadowy.

"And I didn't think it was possible for you to be any cuter." Valerie crouched down and drew his smaller form into her arms. Kwan struggled for a moment before settling into her arms with a huff as Valerie stood again. "And your fur is so soft!" She pressed her face against his back, rubbing against the smooth, soft fur.

"You're just saying that because you've always had a love of animals," Kwan said, rolling his eyes.

"Wait! You can still talk like this?" Valerie blinked down at him in amazement. Wulf remained quiet, but he reached out a hand to enclose it around Kwan's tail, gently running his hand down the length of it to feel the fox's fur.

"I can also turn invisible and conjure balls of light. I can probably do other things too, but I haven't learned how," Kwan explained, somehow managing a frown on his fox face. "I should be able to alter my glamour into pretty much anything, but I haven't really bothered much with trying that out. I like the human guise I have right now."

"You're not the only one." Valerie smirked with a glance toward Wulf, who wouldn't meet her eyes. "Now. Are you two hungry? I'm no great cook, but I think I can whip up something edible." She carried Kwan in her arms as she led the way toward the kitchen while Wulf trailed after her.

"But there's still the matter of Skulker," Kwan said, hopping out of Valerie's arms when they reached the kitchen. He landed on the table there, sitting down as his tail curled around his body. "He knows the oath prevents him from directly attacking anyone to get to me, which is why he hoped to employ you to do his dirty work."

"He's not about to break the oath," Wulf agreed, sitting at the table as Valerie searched around in the refrigerator for something to fix them all to eat. "He knows if he does, he'll get punished even more and might lose his chance to capture Kwan for his collection."

"But we have permission to attack him if it's in self defense or to protect each other," Valerie reminded. "If it's against Skulker to keep him from taking Kwan, Masters will testify that our actions were necessary to the council. But for that, we need to get Skulker to attack first, and that might be difficult."

"Maybe we could tip off Danny's parents," Kwan suggested jokingly. "But Skulker is pretty dangerous. I wouldn't want something happening to Danny's parents if they went after him."

"Just how much do you know about Skulker anyway?" Wulf leaned on one arm as he stared down at Kwan. "All Poindexter could tell me was that he was an alien from some weird planet here for punishment for some crime and that he liked collecting rare, unique things."

Valerie glanced up from pouring a can of soup into a pot to have with the sandwiches she planned on making. Her eyes landed on the black fox as Kwan seemed to shake somewhat under their gazes.

Kwan sighed, his small body deflating as he dropped his eyes to the table top. "Well, he's some sort of cybernetic alien thing. All I know about his abilities is that he can manipulate his body to create all sorts of weaponry. I've seen him turn his arms into plasma ray guns and shoot lasers out of his eyes. I'm sure there's a hundred other ways that he can alter his body, probably more than that. He could be a real threat, and that's just from a ranged prospective."

"So we have to figure out a way first to provoke Skulker into attacking himself instead of using pawns," Wulf said, drumming his fingers on the table as he frowned. "Then we also have to figure out a way to defend against his attacks."

From the look on the werewolf's face, Valerie suspected he shared her opinion of the situation being frustrating. "I would say we should just leave this up to Masters, but I think his hands are tied for this." She served up the sandwiches onto plates and the soup into bowls. Wulf got up and helped her carry them over to the table while Kwan dropped down to the floor before shifting back into his human guise.

"But how can we lure Skulker into attacking?" Kwan asked as they all sat down to eat. "He's not going to be easy to trick."

"Maybe the others will have some ideas," Wulf suggested before taking a large bite out of his sandwich.

Valerie nodded. "Let's save thinking on that for later. I just feel like eating and going to bed." Now that she was sitting down again, she started to feel the exhaustion hit her. She was relieved when the two men agreed to that plan, looking as tired as she felt. They all fell quiet as they ate.


	28. Chapter 28

She pouted after she hung up and slipped his pink phone back into her pocket. It frustrated her that they failed to contact the other groups as planned when they split up at the start of the forest, but another part of her was relieved not to be involved in a fight. She wasn't a complete damsel in distress, like some might think of her as, but the idea of facing off against hunters was a little scary to her, even if they were Danny's parents and as he explained to them not very competent hunters. They were hunters, regardless, and Paulina didn't have any active powers. She felt confident in a hand-to-hand fight, but if attacked from a distance, she would be in trouble.

"Well, what should we do now?" Paulina asked, turning to Desiree, who waited leaning against a tree for the other woman to finish with the phone call.

Desiree shrugged, hugging her winter coat around her body. "Go somewhere warm," she suggested with a shiver. "Your parents won't get upset if you're home late, right?"

"I told them I was staying over at a friend's house. They usually buy that and don't bother checking up on me." Paulina wrapped her arms around her body as she started leading the way through the forest. During their attempts to find where the fae were holding their solstice celebration, they ended up wandering fairly deep into the forest. She didn't worry about Dash and Danny making their way out since Dash grew up here in Amity Park and, like most people here, had spent some time playing in the woods as a child. It was a great place for playing hide and seek with all the trees and bushes to duck behind and hide from whomever was It. Danny's friends from out of town, however, might not remember their way back. "Maybe we should check on Danny's friends." She frowned at Desiree, walking beside her.

"Too bad you don't have my lamp," Desiree said, sighing as she hung her head. "Then you could just wish us all to some place warm."

"It's not that cold yet." Paulina rolled her eyes at the other woman, but when she thought about snuggling up to Desiree to warm up, her cheeks reddened, and she couldn't look at the genie. "Anyway, there's nothing wrong with taking things slowly rather than taking the easy route. It'll give us more time alone."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Grinning, Desiree walked closer to Paulina, slipping an arm around the other woman's waist and drawing her flush against her side. "Too bad we wasted most of the night hunting for the fae's location." Her whispered voice blew her breath softly over Paulina's ear, making her blush darken even more.

Paulina was fairly certain the genie did things like that on purpose to make her blush. Until her birthday party, she never really noticed the way Desiree would drape herself over her, pressing up close and being overly friendly. Paulina was too blinded before by the way Desiree treated the men in their school, being cruel for what seemed like no good reason at the time. Now that she knew something more about the genie's past, Paulina could understand the reaction better, understand why Desiree lashed out angrily at all men with the way they treated her. Being a genie couldn't have been an easy life for her, always at the mercy of the one in command of her lamp.

Paulina still owed Danny a big hug of gratitude for helping to get Desiree's lamp out of the clutches of Skulker. The following day after Danny raced out of Dash's house when he freaked out, he told Desiree about part of went on when he spoke to Lancer and Masters. Paulina knew something good must have happened the moment Desiree entered Dash's house with the biggest smile on her face that Paulina could ever remember. Desiree was finally free again after three years of being a slave under Skulker's hold on her lamp.

"Oh!" Desiree lifted her head from Paulina's shoulder, pulling the other woman out of her thoughts. "I think I see a light." She pointed off to the side, and when Paulina followed her finger, she noticed a flicker of a flashlight between the trees.

"Maybe that's Sam and Tucker!" Paulina grabbed hold of Desiree's hand, dragging the genie along behind her as she jogged toward the source of the light. Dash and Danny went off in the other direction, so Paulina felt fairly confident that they weren't running right at Danny's parents on the hunt for fae.

"Wait, Paulina!" Desiree shouted as she yanked the woman back, pulling her down into a crouch as a shimmering violet light flew past them. The light slammed into a tree behind them, bursting into purple flames that slowly smoldered away to leave behind a blackened scorch mark on the tree's trunk.

"What was that?" Paulina gawked at the mark, cold fear washing over her at the thought of what that purple flame would have done to her if Desiree hadn't dragged her out of it s path in time.

"Sam, you could have hit them!" Tucker's voice reached them from close by as the other pair of teenagers headed toward them. In a moment the pair appeared in front of the two women.

"How was I supposed to know?" Sam demanded as she folded her arms. When her gaze fell upon Paulina and Desiree climbing to their feet, she frowned, violet eyes narrowing in that manner that screamed of instant hate.

Paulina's brow creased in thought, wondering what she could have possibly done to earn the other woman's rage. She hadn't even so much as spoken when they first met before Sam scowled at her like she was the most horrible person on the face of the planet. From talking to Danny, Paulina understood that he and his friends from Wisconsin got labeled losers in their school and that usually came with being picked on by the more popular crowd. But Paulina didn't accept that as an excuse for being rude. Simply because she was somewhat popular and pretty didn't mean she was like those bullies. Snap judgments weren't always right.

"We heard a noise. I acted on instinct. It could have been some horrible monster lurking in the forest waiting for an unsuspecting human to prey upon." Sam turned her head, her eyes scanning their surroundings like she expected some fierce beast to pop out from behind the trees to attack them.

"Now just hold on one minute there," Paulina said, placing herself right before Sam as she pointed a finger into the Goth's face. Sam turned back and blinked at the finger positioned right between her eyes. "I don't know why you hate me so much when I've been trying to be nice to you."

"Right." Sam nodded her head as she rolled her eyes. "Because all the popular girls are always good natured and want nothing but to be friends with everyone. You might have fooled Danny, but I don't buy the act." She narrowed her eyes.

"Sam, she hasn't even done anything remotely mean to us," Tucker argued, frowning at his friend.

"Listen to four eyes." Desiree folded her arms, looking rather unhappy about still standing around in the forest when all she wanted was to go somewhere to warm up after being out in the wintery night for so long.

"Hey!" Tucker protested, pouting as he adjusted his glasses.

"She just has a thing against all men. It's nothing personal," Paulina assured him before turning her attention back to Sam. "It's not an act. I genuinely like being nice to people. You could ask anyone in our school. About the only person there that I actually hate is Skulker and that's because he's a total dick trying to capture one of my friends to take with him when he goes back to whatever messed up planet he came from."

"Yeah, she even likes the nerdest nerd in the school," Desiree added. "Most people just bully the poor kid. Even the losers at school."

"Still not the point." Paulina narrowed her green eyes at Desiree to silence her from interrupting again. "My point," she sighed as she turned back to Sam, "is that I want to be friends. And even if you can't find it in you to like me, maybe you could at least not be so antagonistic toward me. We're both Danny's friends, and if there's a rift between us," she gestured between herself and Sam, "it's just going to hurt him being stuck in the middle. Can we at least try for his sake?"

Sam stared at Paulina as her violet eyes narrowed a fraction and her purple painted lips thinned. She seemed to think it over long and hard before she could manage to say anything. "You really like Danny?"

"Yes," Paulina answered in exasperation. "The guy's a total sweet heart even though he's suffered a lot in his life. And he doesn't need to tell me everything for me to see the hurt that flashes in his eyes and his aura at times." She took hold of Sam's hands, for a brief moment thinking the Goth would yank them free. "I don't want to cause him any more suffering. And I think we could get along if we gave it a chance, despite our obvious differences."

Looking at them side by side, it was clear that they shared completely different interests. Where Sam dressed in all in black, Paulina liked happier colors like pink. Sam had the whole Goth vibe going on while Paulina seemed more preppy. Sam was a loser at her school, and Paulina was on the popular side. They were virtual opposites, but that didn't mean they couldn't find common ground to get along, even if their only common ground was their friendship with Danny.

Sam huffed a sigh. "Don't expect me to want to do sleepovers and makeovers," she grumbled, not looking at Paulina. When she noticed Paulina biting her lip as she glanced over the Goth, seeing what no one else could, Sam frowned with a flat look. "What? What's that face for?"

"Oh, I know that face," Desiree answered while Paulina remained focused on the colors of Sam's auras. Despite her gloomy Goth appearance, Sam's aura wasn't all that dark. There were glimmers of darker colors mixed into the brighter ones, but they weren't all consuming like what Paulina saw in a few people's auras. "That's the look she gets when she wants to fix someone up with their 'one.'" Desiree smiled, not for the first time seeing Paulina with that expression.

"You're not seriously going to try to set me up with someone, are you?" Sam's left eye twitched out of annoyance that Paulina would even think to know the type of person Sam liked. "Tucker and I leave in the morning. We're supposed to be back at the hotel making sure we have everything all packed up so we can hit the road bright and early to head back to Wisconsin."

"It won't take long," Paulina said brightly, ignoring the frown spreading over Sam's face. "Besides it can't possibly take you that long to pack up. You wouldn't have brought that much stuff for a weekend trip. And think about it, if this person turns out to be someone you fall madly in love with, wouldn't you rather start getting to know them now? You can talk to each through texts and e-mails or call each other up on the phone. What's the worst that could happen? You meet and maybe things don't click, but it's not like it'll kill you to meet this person."

"If Sam doesn't want you to, can you set me up?" Tucker cut in, pushing himself between the two women as he pointed at himself. Hope shone in his green eyes.

"I'm already on your good side though," Paulina reminded with a friendly smile. "And anyway, there isn't anyone here that matches with your aura. I can't set up with someone that isn't here." That statement brought a frown to her face because she would be more than happy to find someone for Tucker if she could.

"Where's the harm in it, Sam?" Tucker asked, turning to his friend, though Paulina caught a hint sadness in his eyes at her answer, which only made Paulina feel worse about not being able to help him.

"Oh, fine!" Sam threw up her arms in defeat. "If you're all going to gang up on me. Let's just make this quick." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her warm winter coat.

Paulina grinned, clapping her hands excitedly before she turned to lead the way out of the forest. Behind her, she heard Desiree mumbling something about finally getting to go someplace warm. It wasn't that cold yet, snow having yet to fall, but Paulina was beginning to agree. Going someplace warm, maybe having a nice hot mug of cocoa with a large swirl of whipped cream on top, sounded like a very pleasant idea. Paulina drew up her coat, burying her face into the warm, fuzzy collar the longer they walked through the town toward their destination.

When they finally arrived at the house, all four of them were shivering and eager to get inside. Paulina rang the doorbell then stepped back, rubbing at her arms. She could only make out muffled movement from within the house before the front door finally opened.

"Paulina?" Valerie blinked at the woman on her doorstep then at the group behind her. "What's going on?"

"Can we come in?" Paulina asked hopefully because she was feeling much too cold to hold any sort of conversation on the doorstep of someone's house. With a nod, Valerie stepped aside, allowing the four of them to enter her house. "Ah, these are Danny's friends from Wisconsin, Tucker and Sam." She pointed to each of them as she spoke their names.

"Valerie," she introduced, holding out a hand to shake each of their hands. "What are you all doing here so late?"

"You know how Paulina is," Desiree answered with a bored shrug. "She notices two people have auras that mesh together and just has to set them up."

"No offense, but not my type." Valerie's green eyes landed on Tucker as she frowned at him.

"No, no, she meant her," Tucker said quickly as he pushed Sam in front him.

"Wait. Why are you trying to set me up with a girl?" Sam demanded, and even Valerie looked flabbergasted by this new development.

"I'm not-" Valerie started but paused as she frowned in thought.

"Well, you two will never know if you don't give it a try," Paulina argued, placing her hands on her hips. "Obviously, I'm not expecting you both to suddenly be madly in love with each other the moment you see each other. Love takes time and getting to know one another. But if you never meet first, how will you ever fall in love?"

"She does have a point," Kwan said, his tired voice carrying from the front room into the hallway.

Raising an eyebrow, Paulina turned her gaze onto Valerie. "What is Kwan doing here?" Her thoughts about making nice with Sam were abandoned for the moment as she headed into the front room. She drew up short when she spotted Wulf, strangely enough, on the sofa, laying face down with his head turned away from them. From the slow rise and fall of his body and subtle snore leaving him, Paulina guessed that he fell asleep prior to their arrival. But what had her eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets was the black fox curled up on the small of Wulf's back. Its head rested on its paws as its aqua green eyes gazed at Paulina. Aqua green eyes? With a start, Paulina gasped, hands flying to her mouth. "What happened to Kwan?"'

The fox sighed, closing its eyes briefly like it felt tired of that question. "You might as well bring everyone in here so I only have to say it once."

"Did that fox just talk?" Tucker asked as he peeked in from the front hall.

"Wait. Is that a kitsune?" Sam gasped at the fox.

"Well, that explains things." Desiree leaned against the doorframe as she folded her arms. "I've never granted a wish involving a kitsune before. I guess your magic protects you somehow. Good thing too. Because if that wish had worked, you'd be putty in his hands right now."

"Why do we have to go back to stupid Wisconsin?" Sam grumbled unhappily. "This place is so much cooler."

"Hey, there's always summer," Valerie suggested, patting the Goth on her shoulder.

Paulina had to shake herself out of her shock to rejoin the conversation. Discovering that Kwan was anything but human was numbing, and she could hardly believe it even with the truth right in front of her. She stumbled over to the sofa and collapsed onto the coffee table before it, her eyes never leaving Kwan, who watched her closely while the others talked in the doorway to the front room.

"Why?" Paulina asked, her voice failing her after that one word. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to ask. Why did he never tell her? Why did he keep it secret after they were all willing to protect him? Why did Skulker want a simple kitsune? The black fur might have clued her on that last one. She had seen kitsune before, only a few and only rarely when their glamour slipped at times to show off furry ears or tails. Black was never a color she saw for a kitsune though.

"I just never felt like I could tell anyone," Kwan answered, dropping sad eyes toward the floor. "And I've only known for the last three years, so it's not like I was lying to you the whole time."

"I so have to come back here in the summer," Sam agreed with Valerie's suggestion. "We get a bunch of crazies where we live. But actually getting to sit down and talk with various supernatural creatures? I've always wanted to do that." Her violet eyes darted toward Valerie. "Are you something too?"

"Just a hunter," Valerie answered, shrugging before she frowned. "Well, I guess not anymore, not really. Are you two something?" Her finger pointed between Sam and Tucker.

"Just a techno geek," Tucker grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets with a pout. "She's a witch." He nodded his head toward Sam.

A light flush colored her cheeks as Sam brushed a lock of her shoulder length black hair behind an ear. "I'm still learning though," she explained modestly. "I don't have anyone to teach me. My parents don't believe in things like magic and the supernatural. So I've had to learn everything on my own." She sighed miserably. "Which means most of my spells end in disaster."

"Oh!" Valerie's eyes lit up at the mention of witchcraft. "I think there's a spell book in some of my mom's old stuff. But," she frowned, putting a hand to her chin, "maybe we should have you meet Lancer. He's a pretty awesome witch and knows a lot of stuff. If you need someone to advise you in learning spells and stuff, he'd be the one to ask. When do you have to go back to Wisconsin?"

"We leave in the morning." Sam frowned in disappointment with that fact.

Paulina bit back a smile at having found something to drive away that sour gloom that surrounded Sam. But it was a shame that the woman would be leaving so soon when she probably would have the opportunity to learn a lot from Lancer if she stayed. "Well, we can give Lancer your number, and maybe you can work something out over the phone or through e-mail," Paulina suggested. "Then when summer comes, you can convince your parents to let you visit here for a while."

Sam glanced at Valerie. "That sounds like a good plan to me."


	29. Chapter 29

Danny lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling as the morning sunlight streamed in through the gap in the curtains of the window in his room. His mind kept turning over everything that happened last night, too many thoughts plaguing him to allow him to find any sort of solace in sleep. He couldn't even really think about sleeping when there was some shade out there seeking a way to get at him in order to take over his body to remain living in this world. Danny reached up and scrubbed his hands over his tired face as the troubling thought of the horror he dragged back with him from that dark place circling in his head.

After leaving Lancer's house, Dash walked with him back to his house. Danny still got that nervous, panicky flutter when Dash held him too much, but he was trying hard not to freak out anymore, keeping that one thought that he wouldn't allow the rape to rule him forever in his mind. When Dash didn't turn him away like he was disgusting for having been a rape victim, Danny couldn't describe the relief that filled him. Not everyone would treat him like he was still worth something instead being damaged. Not everyone would be okay waiting on him to deal with that experience, and they would abandon him to find someone without so many problems. But Dash was patient and understanding, which filled Danny with a warm happiness and the wish that he could get over the rape quickly so it wasn't a barrier between them any longer. He knew only time would allow that to happen, and if Dash was willing to wait, then Danny didn't need to rush the process.

Their parting was hesitant, Dash not wanting to leave him alone while the shade was still out there waiting for an opportunity to strike. Worry clung to Dash's dark blue eyes as they stood at the end of the walk before Danny's house. He feared what might happened to Danny if the shade came for him while Danny still had little control over his powers. Being honest with himself, Danny was terrified of meeting with the shade again, but he reminded them both that Lancer's protection spell still held. Until the spell broke, he would be safe. They even set up protection around his house, following the instructions that Lancer gave them before they left his house. After they finished up with the barrier around the house, Dash decided he should probably head home, despite his reluctance. When Dash cupped his cheeks and leaned in, a flare of panic tinged with only a touch of excitement surged through Danny. But Dash merely pressed a kiss to his forehead, probably sensing that Danny wasn't quite ready for a real kiss.

Danny touched a hand to the spot where Dash's lips touched his forehead as a tiny smile tugged at his mouth. He thought he could be okay with gentle kisses like that for now. Dropping his hand away with a sigh, Danny realized he should probably get out of bed. Sam and Tucker were leaving this morning, and Danny wanted to be able to say goodbye to them. Forcing himself out of his bed, he walked over to his closet to grab some clean clothes to get dressed. He knew he should probably tell his friends about what happened with the shade, but he didn't want to make Sam and Tucker worry about him right before they left.

Once he was dressed, Danny headed downstairs to be met with his father at the bottom of the stairs. "Morning, Dad," he greeted uncertainly as he glanced away. That was another part of the night that kept him from finding sleep. He wasn't expecting the whole conversation that happened with his parents. He knew it bothered his father whenever his mother pushed the topic of him dating girls, but he never thought Jack would press the topic and force Maddie to realize the way she was treating their son. Danny rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, avoiding that look in his father's eyes that suggested he wanted Danny to tell them everything that he was hiding, but Danny simply couldn't tell them anything about the rape or his death or any of his experiences with the supernatural.

"You're not planning on going anywhere, are you?" Jack stared down at him as he folded his arms.

"I just wanted to go say bye to Tucker and Sam," Danny answered, chewing on his lower lip out of nervousness, "and you said I could have three hours a day to spend with friends."

"Speaking of which," Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a watch, "when you leave the house, you're to wear this. The moment you step out of the house, the timer will start counting down." He tapped the face of the watch where the timer showed three hours left on it. "You must be back in this house before it hits zero. If you're late, your friend privileges will be revoked."

"I get it." Danny sighed as Jack dropped the watch into his hands. "I shouldn't be gone that long. It's just saying goodbye." Frowning, he strapped the watch onto his wrist. He wished his friends could stay longer, but with his grounding, they wouldn't get that much time to spend together anyway. "I'll be back before you know it." He waved to his father before he darted out the front door. When he dropped his gaze to the watch, he saw the time start ticking down from the three hours. His parents were rather serious about sticking to his punishment this time.

Danny glanced back at his house, trying to visualize the invisible barrier that should keep everyone within the house safe, assuming that he did everything right. Then his gaze swept around the neighborhood and even the sky, searching for the shade. Out in the open like this, he risked being attacked again, but placing a hand to his chest, he could still feel the warm pulse of the protection spell still in effect. As long as he could feel that, he knew he was safe from the shade, and since it was still early in the morning, the spell still had plenty of hours left before it broke.

It took him twenty-five minutes to reach the hotel where Tucker and Sam were staying along with their parents. They were already standing out front as their parents loaded up their luggage into their cars. Danny wasn't surprised to see that each family came in their own cars, doubting that Sam and Tucker's parents would get along that much better than his own parents did with Sam's, especially in such a confined space for many hours at a time. Sam and Tucker tackled him with hugs the moment they spotted Danny.

"Sorry your visit wasn't better," Danny said when they finally released him.

"It was great," Sam assured him as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Of course you think that." Tucker rolled his eyes. "You got to go on hunt for fae," he ticked it off on his fingers, "meet a kitsune-"

"You found out about Kwan?" Danny blinked in surprise at them, wondering when that could have happened.

"Yeah, Paulina dragged us over to this girl's house because she wanted Sam to meet her," Tucker explained, grinning at Sam, who punched him hard on the shoulder. Danny wasn't sure what to say when he caught the slight pink coloring on Sam's cheeks. "Plus Sam now has an invitation to come during the summer and maybe train with your teacher. What was his name?" Tucker frowned at Sam as he tried to remember the man's name. "Mancer or something?"

"Lancer?" Danny gaped at them then snapped his mouth shut. "Well, actually, that would probably be really good for you. You always did want someone to teach you in witchcraft." He tapped his chin in thought at that. He couldn't believe that he didn't think of introducing Sam to Lancer, but he had other things on his mind with finally opening up about the rape then stopping his parents from finding the fae. "Wait. But why did Paulina want you to meet some girl?"

Sam huffed a sigh as she folded her arms. "Apparently Paulina thinks this girl Valerie and I are a perfect match." She shrugged, ignoring Danny's wide eyed stare. "I don't know that I completely trust this ability of Paulina's, but Valerie at least seems cool. She has a lot of books about the supernatural and a few on witchcraft from her mother being a hunter. She even offered to show me some moves and learn how to fire a bow when I come back in the summer." She glanced toward their parents waiting impatiently for their children to be finished saying goodbye. "Well, if my parents allow it."

"I'm surprised you're not begging to stay here." Danny laughed, though he was still surprised at the person that Paulina wanted to set Sam up with. "This totally seems like your kind of place."

Sam sighed. "I know. But there's no way my parents would agree to move here. Besides, I can't just leave Tucker all alone." She threw an arm around Tucker's shoulders as she smiled.

"I think that's a long enough goodbye," Mrs. Manson called to them with an impatient look on her face as she tapped her foot on the ground. All three of them sighed.

"I'm going to miss you guys," Danny said as he hugged both of his friends, not wanting them to leave.

"Hey, it's only, like, another six months until summer," Tucker offered, trying to be positive even though six months felt like forever to them.

"And save some excitement for when we come," Sam said, obviously hoping there would be some big bad for them to deal with the next she came to Amity Park.

"I'm sure there'll be something that needs an ass kicking next time you come." Danny grinned, but he was honestly hoping for some peace and quiet for a while. He waved as Sam and Tucker joined their parents, climbing into the cars. In moments, the cars pulled away and left Danny standing alone outside the hotel. When he couldn't see the cars anymore, Danny sighed and glanced briefly at the watch. He still had over two hours left before he had to be back inside his house.

Turning around, Danny shoved his hands into his pockets as he started on his way home. He didn't want to bother any of his friends this early in the morning, especially after everything that happened last night. They would probably all be rather tired after trekking through the forest late at night, and he was still feeling rather exhausted, though he doubted sleep would come to him when he crawled back into bed.

As he walked past the park on the way back to his house, Danny's thoughts turned back to his number one problem. Skulker, of course, remained an issue, but until he did something, they remained at a standstill. Danny needed to do something about the shade before it was too late. Being the only on that could actually do something against the shade was another reason Danny saw no point in Dash hanging around his house trying to protect him. Dash wouldn't even be able to see the shade. Reaching up a hand, Danny threaded his fingers through his raven locks. Lancer wanted him to fight the shade, and Danny understood the reason for that, but he still felt uncomfortable with the idea.

As if his thoughts summoned it, the shade appeared before him. With a startled shout, Danny tripped backward over his feet, landing hard on his butt as the shade slammed a fist forward with a loud, echoing crash in Danny's ears as the protection barrier stopped the shade from reaching its target. Danny gulped as he stared up at the shade, able to see it better now in the daylight. A wicked grin spread from pointed ear to pointed ear as red eyes gleamed dangerously down at the fallen prey. His white hair flickered like flames, pulling this way and that way by the winter breeze.

"Do you think this pathetic shield will protect you forever?" the shade demanded as he slammed his other fist against it.

Danny winced at the noise it made, praying that the shield wouldn't break prematurely from the shade's effort to shatter the spell. "I don't want to fight you!" he shouted as he climbed to his feet. His eyes narrowed darkly as he drew on his powers the way he trained with Lancer.

"Of course not." The shade laughed at Danny's little outburst. "Because you'll lose. You should just stop now and let me have your body." He drew back a fist, ready to pound on the shield again when Danny released the power he called upon. A bluish stream of energy burst forth from Danny's outstretched hand, washing over the shade's fist. Blinking in surprise, the shade stared at the ice now coating his fist. "Interesting," he said, smirking as cracks appeared in the ice before green fire burst forth, shattering the ice. "You do have some power after all. But I'm still stronger." He thrust his hands before him as a jet of green fire shot out to wash over the barrier.

Danny stumbled back in fear, watching as the flames licked over the invisible wall protecting him. He would have been in trouble if the spell didn't protect him from this type of attack. It was luck that he managed to use the ice skill right then. His attempts at that with Lancer were feeble when it came to quick attacks. Freezing a glass of water was easy when he had the time to sit and concentrate on it. Coating the ground around his bare feet in frost didn't even take any thought at all, happening without even his command. But icing an opponent with a quick freeze ray like he did a moment ago wasn't something he could do at will consistently quite yet.

"What happened to your promise?" Danny demanded as he watched every move the shade made, refusing to let up in his assault on the protection barrier. "You said you would keep me safe from now on. How is attacking me keeping me safe?"

The shade laughed, loud and boisterous, as he stopped briefly with amusement in his eyes. "You believed that lie?" He shook his head, walking up as close as the barrier allowed him to and folding his arms. "You're so gullible, and that's exactly what I needed to escape from the dark realm. But now that I'm free from there, the only thing stopping me from wasting away is you. Once I have control of your body, I'll finally be able to live into this world." He pressed his fingers to the barrier, fire dancing from their tips as his expression twisted into a sneer.

"I don't believe that," Danny snapped, searching for some way to deal with the shade. Even if he ran, the shade would still be out there waiting for him. Attacking was his best option at the moment if he could use his powers well enough. "No one can act that convincingly. You gave me comfort in that dark place when you didn't have to." He frowned as he stared at the shade, something strange catching his attention.

"You were simply in the perfect frame of mind to be duped." The shade snorted. "You _wanted_ someone there to comfort you. I could have spewed out a thousand cruel words, and you still would have willingly curled up in my arms just to feel safe in that dark realm."

"Stop it, you idiot!" Danny shouted, fear creeping into his voice, which only made the shade laugh at him. In panic, Danny reached out to grab hold of the shade's hands, but the barrier stopped them from touching. "You're wasting yourself away! Look!" His worried eyes darted about as he took in the shade's appearance, wisps rising from his body and curling in the air. "Every time you use your power to attack me, you make yourself disappear even faster. I could sit in my house and let you attack the barrier there, and you would waste yourself away in moments."

The shade paused, actually taking a look at himself. When he stopped using his powers, the wisps faded away. Fear actually passed through his red eyes, a shaken expression upon his face. Gritting his teeth, he snapped his gaze toward Danny. "Why should you care if I waste myself away? You should be happy to let me do that. The moment I wipe myself out, you're free."

Danny couldn't find the words to explain it. He dropped his gaze as he thought about the question, wondering why he was even bothering to stop the shade. He could let the shade take itself out without having to fight it. "But you were there for me," he said at last as he lift his gaze. "You made me feel safe and helped me return when Sam used her magic to revive me. You gave me the courage to grab at the chance to live again. I don't believe any of that was a lie. And," he hesitated, frowning, "I want to help you exist in this world if I can."

The shade snorted at the response as he folded his arms, red eyes narrowing with disbelief. "And how can you do that? My existence is completely reliant on your body. I won't last if I'm outside your body, and you certainly aren't going to give it to me. How can you possible secure my existence here?"

Danny lowered his gaze again because that was the exact problem he was still trying to work out in his head. "Magic," he mumbled then snapped his head up. "Magic! Lancer must have some idea of how to make it work. He knows stuff about shades. Surely there's something he's learned about how to keep a shade on this plane of existence without me having to give up my life to you. It's worth a try, isn't it?"

The shade blinked, stunned by the suggestion. "Why?" He searched for the question he wanted to ask. "Why would you do that for me?"

"There's pain and loneliness in your eyes." Danny held the red eyed gaze. "It must have been very lonely in that dark place for however long you existed there. I can understand wanting to escape that place. I was only there for ten minutes, and it felt like ten years of solitude. What do you say? Stop attacking me and give us time to figure out a way to save you?"

The shade hesitated, pursing his mouth to one side in thought. "I suppose it's worth the try." He frowned at Danny, narrowing his eyes. "But if you fail to find a way, I won't hesitate to attack again."

"I would be surprised if you didn't make that threat. Follow me." Danny glanced at his watch as he started walking down the street in the direction of where Lancer lived. He only had about an hour and forty-five minutes to make it home now. Hopefully, Lancer wouldn't take long to find some spell that would allow the shade to live on this plane. Glancing at his side, he watched the shade with his arms folded behind his head as he walked. "Do you have a name?" he wondered curiously.

The shade's shoulders hunched up in a brief shrug. "I never had much of a reason for a name while trapped in that wretched dark realm." He frowned as his gaze landed on Danny. "Maybe I'll call myself Dan."

"Why are you taking my name?" Danny pouted at him, not sure how much he liked this shade using his name. As he looked over the shade, Danny noted that the shade was definitely older than he, at least in appearance. Danny had no way of knowing how long the shade existed in the dark place. But squinting at the shade now, Danny almost thought there was some resemblance in their faces, though the shade had a small patch of white hair upon his chin.

"Why not? It's not like I have a lot of ideas for other names." The shade grinned at the frustration on Danny's face.

"Fine. Whatever," Danny grumbled, deciding there really wasn't much point in arguing about it, so the shade was now named Dan. When they arrived at his teacher's house, Danny pressed the doorbell, hoping he wouldn't be waking Lancer up or worse, which he decided not to think about.

"Daniel," Lancer said when he opened the door. A frown thinned his mouth as his brow creased, worry appearing in his green eyes. "What brings you here so early? The spell should still be in effect."

"Oh, it is." Danny looked at the shade, who didn't seem very impressed with the balding man. "I actually wanted to discuss something with you, and," he checked his watch, "I don't really have a lot of time before I have to be home."

"Then I suppose we should make this quick." Lancer stepped aside to allow Danny into his home.

"Straight to the point," Danny said as Lancer closed the door, leaving them in the darkness of the first floor. With a glance around, Danny wondered where his vampire principal was hiding. "It's about the shade-"

"Dan," the shade insisted.

"Fine." Danny glared at him, making Lancer frown at him. Something struck him in that moment as his blue eyes widened at Dan. "Wait. How are you through the protection around the house?"

"The shade is here?" Lancer frowned even more.

Dan shrugged. "Maybe it doesn't recognize me as a threat because I agreed to stop attacking you."

"I'm not sure I like the logic of that," Danny muttered as he reached out and tried to poke at Dan. His finger barely reached Dan before meeting with resistance. "Well, the protection spell still works." He turned his attention back to Lancer. "Yes, the shade is here and he insists I call him Dan now."

"Why have you brought the shade here?" Lancer folded his arms, clearly not liking this new develop, especially with the shade able to pass through his protective spells on his house.

"Is there any way that we can allow Dan to exist on this plane without killing me? Some spell or potion or ritual?" Danny wore a hopeful look as he smiled weakly at his teacher.

Lancer reached up a hand, taking hold of his chin as he pondered the question. "I don't believe anyone has thought of such a thing," he admitted. "I might need some time to research this." His gaze looked over Danny. "Though perhaps your unique condition could allow something to work. But I have a question I want to ask you. Why do this for him when he's tried to kill you?"

"Killing him shouldn't be our immediate answer," Danny said firmly as he gazed with determined eyes at Lancer. "Does he deserve to be destroyed simply for the desire to live on this plane instead being trapped in darkness?"

Lancer nodded his head. "A noble idea. But if he attacks-"

"I do have my own powers, even if I'm not good at them," Danny reminded him. "And he wouldn't want to waste what little energy he has left." Danny eyed Dan, who pursed his lips in frustration at being reminded of his weak state of existence. "And as long as we're working on a way to help him, he promised to be a good boy." He grinned when Dan glowered at him.

"I shall start researching this immediately and contact you when I have found something," Lancer said with some hesitancy, obviously concerned that Dan might be preying on Danny's good nature.

"Thank you for this, Sir!" Danny smiled widely, happy that Lancer agreed to help.


	30. Chapter 30

Nothing worked! His frustration built at that one grating, irritating, undeniable fact. His plan to have Valerie kill the werewolf for him failed spectacularly. He watched from the shadows, wanting to witness that pesky werewolf's demise, but he didn't anticipate Kwan to be present or for his prey to stand in the way of Valerie getting her vengeance upon Wulf, even going so far as to spill his own blood to stop the blade from finding the werewolf again. Gritting his teeth, Skulker realized he underestimated the attachment Kwan developed for Wulf in the short amount of time that pathetic group of friends had surrounded his quarry like a protective shield.

To make the whole thing even worse, Valerie's failure to kill Wulf allowed Masters the time to arrive on scene and put a stop to her attempts to seek revenge for the death of her mother. Skulker followed them, growing more frustrated each passing moment when he saw the interaction taking place between kitsune and werewolf. He did not spend the last three years awaiting the end of his punishment to capture Kwan only to have some pathetic werewolf stand in his way, seducing his prey. Now, even more than before, he wished for the werewolf's death. But with that blasted oath hanging over him, he had to rely on other means than a direct attack.

Using Valerie as a pawn was no longer an option. It was clear after watching them leave Lancer's house, all three of them together and looking like a merry band of friends. Skulker's mouth pressed together in a thin, angry line as he recalled seeing that. He didn't know what took place within the teacher's home, but whatever was said changed Valerie's opinion of the werewolf. His green eyes narrowed in rage as he resisted the urge to destroy something. If only Desiree's stupid wish had worked three years ago, Kwan would already being under his control, and those stupid friends never would have come to be an obstacle in his way. But maybe he was looking at things from the wrong perspective. Genie magic didn't work against a kitsune, it seemed, but maybe there was some other form of magic that would achieve his goal. He knew there were other kitsune in the area. He saw them fleeing from the festival last night. They wouldn't be under Masters' protection, and perhaps Skulker could gain some useful information from them.

With that idea in mind, Skulker headed for the exit of the park, intent on tracking down one of those common variety kitsune. As he neared the exit, he caught sight of that idiot new student and growled angrily at the fact that Danny was another thorn in his side. A useless, powerless thorn, but a thorn nonetheless. But with other matters on his mind to deal with, Skulker decided he would ignore the other man for now. As another student at Casper High, Danny was off limits for attacking.

When a startled shout reached his ears, Skulker turned back to the new student, who fell on his butt. He sneered at the man getting startled over nothing. There wasn't another soul in the area other than the two of them, and Danny certainly didn't give him any noticed since the man had his back to Skulker. The pathetic reaction only proved in Skulker's mind how weak and useless Danny was. It was laughable that Danny thought he could somehow protect Kwan from him.

"I don't want to fight you!"

That shout stopped Skulker from turning away. Danny was back on his feet, but he was still facing away from Skulker, making the alien wonder at whom the new student was shouting. But that questioning thought fled from his mind when Skulker noticed the way the color faded from Danny's hair. His mouth parted slightly in shock at the white locks ruffling gently by the winter breeze. He never knew a human to change hair color in that manner, but what had him gaping even more at the new student was in the next moment when a stream of bluish energy burst from Danny's hand. A block of ice formed in the air before Danny, its shape looking somewhat like a closed fisted hand attached to part of a forearm. Skulker's wide green eyes stared at the block of ice that soon shattered, raining down chunks of ice onto the ground.

A slow, wicked smirk stretched over his face as Skulker leveled his gaze at Danny. There was more to this pathetic new student than met the eye. Danny clearly tried to keep these abilities a secret, though ice powers alone didn't seem all that unique. The one sided conversation Danny held continued while the alien was distracted with his thoughts of this new discovery. Skulker realized then that there was something else going on with the new student. Danny didn't simply cry out in fright over nothing. Something was talking with him, perhaps fighting him, but Skulker was unable to see it with his own eyes.

He adjusted his eyes, reconfiguring them to see what couldn't be seen. When nothing showed, he ground his teeth and tried another method. Again and again, he altered the way his eyes viewed the world, but he saw nothing more than a flicker of a shadow before Danny. He couldn't accomplish more than that, though there was clearly something there antagonizing the new student. His interest was piqued even more now than by spotting those crude drawings that Danny did during history class. Remembering that quick glance at clawing hands and burning eyes, Skulker wondered if perhaps Danny's drawings were related to whatever invisible being haunted the man now. Research needed to be done, because he knew Danny would never tell him anything about those curious ice abilities or the thing attacking him.

When Danny started moving again, Skulker trailed after him, keeping a safe enough distance that the other man wouldn't notice him but not so far as to lose sight of him if he turned a corner suddenly. His time would be better spent working on a way to secure Kwan in his possession by the end of his sentence, but his curiosity about this development with Danny tickled at his brain and refused to be ignored. He still had around half a year left to rid himself of the obstacles in his way.

Spotting Danny entering Lancer's house, Skulker wasn't surprised that the man would seek the teacher's help in dealing with whatever problem haunted him. He glanced around the neighborhood, finding hardly anyone out at the early morning hour. If he wanted to hear anything that Danny discussed with that stupid, fat witch, he would need to get closer to the house, but he knew Lancer would have protection spells all around his home. There were probably anti listening spells to keep unwanted outsiders from overhearing any private discussions within the house. Skulker smirked, doubting that Lancer's feeble spells would work against him. The stupid witch never dealt with someone from Cyonetic before and wouldn't know how to protect against the things Skulker could do.

Crossing the street, he cautiously approached the house, wary of the spells that would be set up by the witch. When he reached the front door, Skulker tentatively placed a hand to it but yanked it back when he felt a shock off the barrier. If Kwan ever thought to hide within Lancer's house, Skulker might have trouble getting at his prey. Leaning his head as close as possible, he adjusted his hearing much like he did his eyes back in the park. He filtered his sense of hearing, grinding his teeth in frustration when he couldn't pick up more than muffled voices beyond the door. It was as annoying as not being able to see whatever Danny was speaking to at the park. How could it even be possible for something on this pathetic rock to beat his abilities? No witch's power should be able to best him!

The doorknob twisted as someone began to open it. Skulker quickly ducked around the side of the house to avoid being seen. Danny said his goodbyes to the teacher before he started walking away from the house. Skulker was about to start trailing after him until he realized that Lancer still stood on his doorstep. Jaw clenching tightly, he waited for the man to return inside, but Lancer seemed to have no interest in doing want the alien wanted.

"I know you're there, Skulker," Lancer said, not leaving his spot on the doorstep where he likely remained protected thanks to his magic. "You were here earlier too, so you obviously know that Kwan isn't here. Why were you following Daniel?"

A long string of curses flew through his mind as Skulker stepped around the corner of the house. He glared, narrowing his green eyes at the balding man. "You're rather observant for a pathetic life form." He closed the distance between them, never taking his gaze off the man. "I suppose Danny sought you out to talk about those peculiar ice skills he has." A smirk twitched at his mouth when he caught a flash of panic in Lancer's eyes. The witch didn't expect him to know about those powers that Danny had. "Or maybe," Skulker grinned, leaning closer to the teacher, "he wanted to talk about some haunting spirit attacking him."

"Daniel is my student. It's not unusual for him to seek advice from his teacher." Lancer folded his arms, staring flatly at the alien before him.

"Pyromancers aren't an uncommon thing on this planet." Skulker ignored Lancer's words, pretending the witch never spoke. "It's not that hard to imagine there being people capable of cryokinensis as well, though I admit I had not yet seen one before. However, I do believe their hair normally doesn't change color when they use their powers." His eyes narrowed at Lancer, searching for any hint, any little quirk in the man's response, to indicate what the man knew. "He's not exactly a normal cryomancer, is he?"

Lancer laughed, amused by Skulker's word which only enraged the alien. "You think there's something special about Daniel?" His expression changed in an instant, shifting into neutral indifference, though he failed to wipe the hatred from his green eyes. "Go home and wait out the rest of your sentence quietly. You won't like the result if you make an attempt to take Kwan back with you."

"We'll see." Skulker allowed a smirk to slip onto his face under the continued flat glare of the teacher. Perhaps Lancer thought he was playing the conversation well, luring Skulker away from the truth with indifferent comments and pathetic threats, but Skulker didn't miss the worry lurking in his eyes. Lancer feared the alien discovering the truth behind Danny, feared that another one of his students was at risk, and that was all Skulker needed to know. Skulker may not know what exactly Danny was, but Danny was something special. Only that fact mattered.


	31. Chapter 31

Abner winced as he glanced at the blond man in front of him, who wore a cringe on his face after hearing the painful string of vibrating notes off the guitar. "Sorry," he mumbled as he dropped his gaze to the guitar propped on one leg. "Maybe this was a bad idea after all. I'm not very good at this."

Johnny shook his head, the blond hair pulled back in a ponytail flopping behind him. "I know my dad likes to say that I was born with a guitar in my hand." He rolled his green eyes. "But even I didn't start out as some awesome guitarist. It took a lot of hours practicing to become the 'prodigy' that my dad likes to call me." He got up and walked behind Abner to adjust the other man's fingers on the head of the guitar. "You just need practice. That actually wasn't too bad for a first time. And your hand needs to adjust to reaching your fingers across to each of the strings."

Abner flushed lightly at Johnny's nearness, and when the other man had him strum the pick over the strings again, it sounded far better this time. He shifted his fingers to another of the chords that Johnny demonstrated earlier. When it didn't hurt his ears, he smiled happily. On the next chord he tried, he winced at the dull thrum.

"That was better," Johnny said encouragingly as he returned to sitting in front of Abner. "Don't worry so much about making mistakes. I'm not expecting you to get this perfect on your first day, and I'm not going to yell at you because you get something wrong. The key is patience and to just keep trying until you get it right."

Abner looked up from the guitar and stared at Johnny. "Everyone at school would be surprised if they saw you right now." He laughed lightly then bit his cheek, wondering if that comment would upset the other man.

"I still expect you not to go around spreading that I'm some softie." Johnny frowned as his eyes narrowed half a fraction.

"I wasn't going to!" Abner assured the other man quickly.

An awkward silence followed as his hazel eyes drifted around the room. Johnny's bedroom. That fact brought a blush to his face, soft and pink, as he tried not to think of Johnny sitting in front of him, sitting on his bed with the black sheets all tangled up in a mess. Johnny didn't care to clean up before Abner came over, leaving dirty clothes lying around and magazines with buxom ladies scantily clad dumped on the floor. The walls were covered with posters from various hard rock and punk bands that Johnny liked. An ashtray sat on the window sill with a pack of cigarettes. The usual leather biker jacket that Johnny wore was currently draped over the back of the chair that Abner occupied.

"Is," Abner turned his gaze back onto Johnny, "it really so bad though? Does it matter how other people think of you as long as you like who you are? You have the whole badass punk thing going for you, but that's not the whole of who you are."

"Easy for you to say," Johnny grumbled as he drew up one leg onto the edge of the bed and leaned on it. "You're invisible. No one cares how you act or dress or basically anything about you. You could probably streak through the school, and no one would even give you a second look."

Abner flinched at those words, dropping his gaze miserably to the floor. The words were true, but they still stung. He knew the other students at school hardly even noticed his existence, with the exception of those that ate lunch with in the theater, and that was only because Danny became his lab partner in chemistry. If Danny hadn't moved here, Abner would probably still be a faceless nobody wandering the halls of Casper High.

"Hey." Johnny's hand touched Abner's chin, nudging it upward so he could stare into the other man's hazel eyes. "I wasn't trying to be hurtful. I was making a point. You can get away with things because no one notices you. But me?" Johnny snorted, looking away as he dropped his hand. "Everyone knows my dad is the town drunk. Everyone has their eyes on me, waiting to see if I'll follow in his footsteps. I've allowed taken up guitar like him. I smoke like him. Everyone's waiting to see if I pick up a bottle before I hit twenty-one and turn into some violent monster under the influence of alcohol."

"But you're nothing like your dad," Abner argued firmly as he pouted at the man across from him.

"You barely even know me." Johnny shook his head, disbelief in his eyes.

"I don't need to know every detail of your life to see that you aren't like your father." Abner set the guitar down, leaning it on its stand so that it wouldn't slip and crash to the ground. "Playing guitar and smoking doesn't mean you're turning into your dad. The smoking thing is," Abner made a face, "kind of disgusting."

"Kitty would say that too," Johnny mumbled, glancing away.

"But playing guitar is something you love, right?" Abner continued when Johnny gave a shrugging nod. "That has nothing to do with your dad. That's just something that's a part of you. As for drinking, you haven't done that yet. There's no guarantee that you'll be as bad a drunk as your dad, and as long as you're cautious about how much you do drink if you decide to, you can stop yourself from becoming an alcoholic or drinking to the point of becoming drunk. Besides, you have a good side, even if you don't want everyone to see it. I know it's there. And I bet Kitty would tell you it's there too. You were able to find forgiveness toward her and Ember."

Johnny stared at Abner then released a short laugh. "You really don't give up on people, do you?"

"Not when I care about them," Abner admitted as some of the tension melted from his body. "You can prove them wrong about you. Who your father is doesn't define who you'll become." Dropping his gaze, he picked at a loose strand on his jeans. "I'm certainly not going to turn out like my father."

Johnny's brow wrinkled at that comment. "Your dad's a banker, isn't he? What's wrong with that? I don't think I've heard a bad word about your dad."

"He's a narrow minded ass." Abner glared at the strand between his fingers as he tugged on it. "He always wanted a son. He just wished he hadn't ended up with such a girly looking son." He wouldn't look up at Johnny as he spoke. "He doesn't do anything, like abuse me or something, but he doesn't care about me. He ignores my presence at home, pretending like he doesn't even have a son. He hates that I'm interested in things like fashion and making clothes. He wishes I was big and strong and into sports. But that's just not who I am."

"I guess we both have assholes for dads," Johnny mumbled, and Abner felt a little relief wash over him when Johnny didn't make fun of him, didn't tease him over his less than manly interests. "Did those kittens ever find good homes?"

Abner jerked his head up to blink at Johnny in surprise at the change of topics. "Yeah," he answered with some cheer sneaking back into his voice. "We get pictures of them sometimes from the owners. And they come in whenever they need checkups or get sick. I could take you to the clinic and show you." He smiled brightly, though fearing Johnny wouldn't be interested in something like that.

Johnny nodded as he stood. "I'd like that." He grabbed his jacket from the chair and tugged it on.

Grabbing his own coat, Abner hopped out of the chair then followed Johnny out of his bedroom. As they left the house, he reached into his pocket of his coat, his hand wrapping around a box that he debated giving the other man a thousand times in his head while Johnny taught him to play guitar. It never felt like the right moment to bring it up while he was sitting in Johnny's bedroom. It seemed even less like the right moment when he climbed onto Johnny's motorcycle behind him. He squeaked, wrapping his arms tightly around Johnny when the motorcycle jerked forward and sped down the street. Motorcycles would probably never be one of his favorite things in the world, but he couldn't deny he enjoyed the excuse to hold Johnny like this.

The ride to the animal clinic where his mother worked almost seemed too short with the way Johnny sped through traffic. He stumbled after he climbed off the motorcycle, Johnny catching his arm to steady him.

"Not too good with the motorcycle, huh?" Johnny's mouth quirked in a smirk that made the shorter man flush.

"It's - I don't often have the chance to ride on one." Abner tried desperately to smooth down his dusty blond hair after removing the helmet. His blush darkened a little more as he remembered walking around the mall with his hair sticking up all over the place when they went to look at the music shop. He must have looked ridiculous!

When Johnny started toward the animal clinic, Abner caught his arm. They had to park a few buildings away from it because the street was pretty parked up with cars. He swallowed as they stood before the gap between two buildings. His nervousness made him feel jittery.

"Tomorrow's Christmas," Abner said, not able to meet Johnny's gaze. "And I know we're not best friends or anything, but I saw something the other day, and it made me think of you. So," he reached into his coat pocket to pull out the box, "here." He held the box out toward Johnny then felt horribly embarrassed, wondering if the man would hate it.

"You got me a present?" Johnny took the box from Abner's hand. Hazel eyes flicked up toward Johnny's face as Abner chewed nervously on his lower lip. Johnny popped open the lid of the box and stared at the item inside it. Lifting it from the box, Johnny stared at the green skull pendant strung up on a thin black chain. "This made you think of me?"

Abner gulped as he looked away. "If you don't like it, I can just take it back." He rubbed awkwardly at one arm, feeling silly for thinking that it would be a good gift for the other man. He probably would have been better off buying a guitar pick or something else instead, or even just not getting the man a present at all. What was he even doing? Johnny probably didn't want to receive presents from him. Now he wished the ground would open up beneath his feet and swallow him to escape this embarrassing situation.

"No, it's great!" Johnny insisted as he pulled the necklace on over his head. The skull pendant draped down just below the collar of his white shirt. "I really like it. I just wasn't expecting to exchange Christmas presents. I didn't get you anything."

Abner shook his head. "You don't have to get me anything. Think of it as, like, um, payment for teaching me guitar." He couldn't help feeling a warm flush when he saw Johnny wearing the necklace. "But you don't have to pretend to like it-" his voice cut off when his gaze darted away and fell upon something in the narrow alleyway between the buildings where they stood.

"No, I wasn't just saying that. I _do_ like it." It took Johnny a moment to realize that something was wrong, frowning when he spotted the tremble in Abner's body and the fear growing in his hazel eyes. "What's wrong?" When he turned to see what caught Abner's attention, he understood with a start what caused the man's reaction. "Oh, god," he muttered, pulling Abner's back against his chest as he covered the man's eyes with his hand, hiding the horrible sight from him.

Abner couldn't stop shaking as cold, numbing horror crept through him. The image remained burned into his mind. The woman's body lying lifeless in the dirty alleyway, her pants yanked down around one ankle while the other leg bent at an awkward angle. A bloody mess splattered between her legs, and Abner struggled to keep the sickness from rising up in him.

"Someone call the police!" Johnny shouted to the people wandering the street. He kept his arms around Abner, like somehow his hold could protect the other man from the horrible vision plaguing his mind. The sound of commotion noisily filled the air around him as people came to see what was the matter. Gasps of shock and disgust came with whispers and mutters when people saw the dead woman.

Abner didn't pay any attention to them. The jittery, panicky feeling surging through him was too much. That itchy sensation grew more intense with each passing second, and if he didn't get out of there soon, he knew something bad would happen. Pushing out of Johnny's hold, Abner ran away from the horrible scene, racing down the street, passing his mother's animal clinic. He kept his hands curled in against his chest, fearing what might happen if he touched anyone or anything that he passed. He needed to get somewhere safe, someplace where he wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Abner!"

Johnny's voice reached him, much too close at that moment. Abner pushed himself to run faster, but Johnny's hand caught the back of his coat flapping behind him. Reacting without much thought, only wanting to keep Johnny from being harmed, Abner grabbed at the lamppost in front him, squeezing his arms around it to keep Johnny from tugging him backward toward the other man.

With a popping sound, the light bulb of the lamppost blew, raining down tiny shards of glass. It happened like a cascade. The next lamppost blew, then the next, and the next all the way down the block in both directions on both sides of the street. The windows of the nearest cars cracked before bursting, alarms blaring. Despite the chaos ensuing around them, Abner felt relief as the itchy sensation faded away, the buildup of his power expending itself.

"Abner, what was that?" Johnny asked in a shaky voice.

His muscles tensed as Abner used the lamppost to support himself. Johnny would, obviously, want answers after witnessing what happened. Abner released his tight hold on the lamppost as he glanced around, taking in the damage his explosive power did to his surroundings. He never caused damage like this in the past. Usually, it was only small explosions and things he touched directly. The lamppost he touched didn't explode itself, and he didn't come in contact with everything else that did receive damage.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere a little more private," Abner suggested. When he took a step away from the lamppost, he stumbled, but Johnny caught hold of him. "I don't want to be around when someone comes looking at what just happened."

"Good point." Johnny nodded his agreement as he looped an arm around Abner's waist, supporting the shorter man as they walked down the street.

No one seemed to be around to take notice of the damage done to the lights and cars. But when they neared the animal clinic, Abner saw why no one came running at the sound of the car alarms several blocks away. A large crowd was gathered where they spotted the woman's body. Police cars were parked there with their lights flashing, and Abner guessed their sirens upon arrival drowned out the car alarms from his explosions. The police coroner's truck was there too, waiting to take the woman's body back to headquarters to do the autopsy on her. Seeing them all brought up the sick feeling in him as the vision flashed in his mind again, but Johnny quickly steered him inside the clinic.

"Abner, sweetie! What are you doing here?" The woman at the front desk raised her head when the door opened. She share a great resemblance to her son with the dusty blonde hair that framed her face and the pale hazel eyes.

"Hey, Mom," Abner said, trying to keep the weak waver out of his voice. "Uh, Johnny just wanted to see the cats."

Her hazel eyes drifted over to the man at her son's side. She frowned somewhat at him with a look in her eyes that promised pain if Johnny dared to do anything to hurt her little boy. "Go on back then. Oh, and if you like, some of the dogs are due for a washing."

"I'm on it!" Abner saluted his mother with a goofy grin that made her smile. He led the way, feeling less shaky on his feet now, toward the back area where they kept the homeless cats and dogs caged. Once they were alone in the room for dogs, Abner slid down to take a seat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"You help out here?" Johnny took a seat next to him.

"Part time work whenever they need an extra hand." Abner glanced at the dogs, most of them curled up sleeping in their cages while others were pawing at the doors wanting to be played with. "I've always really liked animals, and if I hope to buy that guitar, I should probably pick up some more hours here."

"So," Johnny said slowly as he frowned, "want to tell me what exactly happened back there?"

Abner bowed his head, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I can make things explode when I touch them. And when I saw that woman, I don't know." He dropped his hands and turned to Johnny with a miserable expression. "It just started building up. I could feel it, the power, and it needed to come out, but if I used it there-" He shook his head. "There were too many people around, and I can't control it. I've tried ever since I first discovered it. Sometimes, it seems like I'm able to control the power of the explosion and when it'll happen, but other times, it's just random. I could have really hurt someone back there if I didn't run away."

"That's a pretty scary power," Johnny murmured, awe but also something close to fear entering his eyes.

"Yeah, so you can understand why I needed to get out of there fast." Abner dropped his head onto his knees with a pathetic feeling. "You must think I'm a coward freaking out over that body like that."

"No." Johnny shook his head. "I would have thought there was something wrong with you if it didn't freak out. I," he scratched at his cheek, "was a little scared when I saw it." After a pause, he broke the awkward silence. "How long have you had this power?"

"Since the beginning of the year, about." Abner frowned as he thought back his first experience with it. "I didn't discover it until a few weeks in, really. Just one day, BAM!" He clapped his hands before him. "The apple I got to eat for a snack exploded."

A thoughtful look passed through Johnny's green eyes as he glanced around at the dogs in the room. "That sounds about the same as when I started noticing all my bad luck," he mumbled the scratched a hand through his blond hair. "It was a few weeks in when the first event happened, after Kitty made that whole scene of breaking up with me."

"You-" Abner frowned, the thoughts turning over in his head. "You don't think that there's some connection, do you? I guess it wouldn't be that uncommon for people to discover powers around the same time. But," he leaned back against the wall, "it seems a little coincidental that we both develop some random power at the same time. And I seem to have pretty bad luck controlling this whole explody thing I do." He dropped his gaze to his hands.

"Let's say there is a connection," Johnny said, following that line of thought. "Then what if it's because we started being around each other more this year? In the past, we didn't really spend more than a few seconds in the same area, only passing each other a few random times in the hallway. Then this year, because you linger after class to see me, we're spending far more time than usual around each other. And after a few weeks, that's enough time for these powers to manifest in us."

Abner's mouth dropped open as he stared at Johnny, surprised by the thoughtful explanation. Then he frowned and turned his head away. "Maybe it would be better if we didn't spend time around each other," he mumbled, his heart aching at that thought. "If you're having bad luck because of me-" He shook his head. "I don't want that."

Johnny reached over and flicked Abner on the forehead. "You're really going to give up that easily?" He shook his head. "A little bad luck isn't that bad. I can handle it."

Abner smiled, feeling a flutter of butterflies inside him. When he heard one of the dogs whining, he glanced over to see the chew toy on the floor by the cage. "Cujo," he said with a sigh, though he wore an amused smile. "Cujo's my favorite," he explained to Johnny. "But he's always dropping his chew toy outside the cage, and then he whines for hours until someone gets it for him." Abner climbed to his feet and walked over to Cujo's cage. Johnny joined him to see the Saint Bernard puppy, trying to squeeze through the bars of his cage to reach the chew toy. Crouching down, Abner picked up the pinky bear squeak toy. "I'm not even sure how he manages to get this through the bars." Abner laughed, remembering his attempts to shove the bear back into the cage without opening it. The toy never seemed to fit through the bars. When he opened the cage door, Cujo immediately scurried out and tackled Abner to the ground and started licking the man's face. Johnny watched them with an amused quirk of his mouth.


	32. Chapter 32

"I can't believe I never knew about this place!" Paulina said as she pulled a cute skirt off the rack and held it to her waist, trying to decide if it would look good on her. "It has so many cute things! And the prices are so affordable!"

"And here I thought she'd turn her nose up at this store because it's not all brand name stuff and super expensive," Valerie whispered to Desiree as the two of them watched Paulina gathering more and more items of clothing to try on in the changing room.

"I guess it's true that you really can't judge a book by its cover." Desiree shrugged before she turned back to the rack in front of her to look over the various skirts and pants hanging from it. "Paulina might come from a wealthy family, but she clearly isn't a complete snob like some of the other popular girls."

"Oh, I hate those other girls!" Valerie wrinkled her nose and pulled a shirt from one of the racks. "If it isn't brand name and costs over five hundred dollars, they scowl at you like you're some homeless freak. And besides," she held up another shirt in front of her, "you can't tell me this isn't cute."

Desiree laughed, her gaze darting toward Paulina, who was quickly starting to topple over under the weight of all the clothes she picked out. "Though I think you created a monster. With the amazingly low prices, Paulina's going to be able to triple her wardrobe on the budget her father gave her."

"I don't exactly get a lot of money for shopping." Valerie searched through the clothes again, seeking some more items to try on. "And this seemed like a good place to bring Wulf and Kwan for getting some clothes. Well, Kwan especially. He hasn't really been able to get back in the Longs' house, so he doesn't exactly have any other clothes to wear. And my dad only gave us each two hundred dollars to spend as a Christmas present, so the cheaper the prices the better. And these clothes aren't bad."

Desiree turned her gaze toward the men's section of the store where werewolf and kitsune were sifting through clothes to find something to buy. "So your dad was okay with both of them moving in?

"Well," Valerie frowned a little, "he was totally fine about Kwan moving in, especially after I made Kwan show all the scars on his body." Sadness clouded her green eyes at the memory of seeing the scars littering her friends body. Desiree could imagine how much it hurt her to see the pain her friend suffered at the hands of what was believed to be his parents. "For Wulf, it took a little more convincing. I played the cute, innocent daughter act." She batted her eyes with that sweet look of a defenseless girl. "And I reminded him that with him working late nights a lot, I would feel a lot safer having to two big, strong men in the house in case some big bad burglar tried to break into our house. And I couldn't just leave Wulf living all by himself in that lonely, little apartment." She grinned. "He ate up the story and decided to adopt Wulf into the family as well."

"You get your way a lot, don't you?" Desiree shook her head as she smiled a little. She was glad that the three of them were getting along, finding a home with each other. Jealousy coiled around her heart. Things were progressing slowly with Paulina, and Desiree was fine with that. She could be touchy feely with the other woman in a playful way, but her cruel past still haunted her. Her jealousy rose from the fact that Wulf and Kwan would have a happy home with Valerie. Desiree was like Wulf up until now, only having a small, empty apartment to return home to at nights. When she arrived in Amity Park, Masters made arrangements to take care of her throughout her high school career. If ever she needed something, money for food or clothing or any other necessities, she only had to ask him, and Masters would give her the money. He even gave her some extra cash for if she wanted to get a little something for herself simply because she wanted it. Some students might think that Masters was a mean, harsh man, but under his cold exterior, he was a kind man.

"It's all about working the right angle." Valerie grinned and winked at the genie. "I feel kind of bad that I didn't get Wulf anything for Christmas though. Well, I mean, it's not like I was really expecting to have him living with us for Christmas. He didn't look too upset by that, but you know, I still kind of feel like I should get him something."

"Well, the boys are busy," Desiree said, glancing back toward them. "And Paulina probably won't notice we're gone while she's obsessing over clothes." By that point, Paulina disappeared into one of the changing rooms to try on all the various clothes she picked out, though it was likely only the first of many trips to the changing room. "We could sneak out for a little while, and you can search for something to give him, though I bet actually spending Christmas with people was enough to make Wulf very happy." A wicked grin spread onto Desiree's face. "Especially when one of those people was Kwan." She only needed a quick glance at the pair together to see that Kwan and Wulf were developing feelings for each other.

Valerie watched the two men with an amused smile as Wulf draped a dark blue scarf around Kwan, who was laughing at something. "Come help me figure out a gift for him." She grabbed hold of Desiree's hand, pulling her toward the exit of the store. "I mean, what do you get the werewolf you tried to kill as a gift?"

"Giving him a home seems like a great present to me." Desiree shrugged as she pondered over what Wulf might like. Paulina probably would be the better choice for advice on a gift for Wulf since she spent time with him at lunch. "Maybe you could give him something with a wolf on it."

"Hm," Valerie pursed her lips as she thought on it. "You don't think that might be a little clichéd or anything?"

"Well, what do we know that he likes?" Desiree grinned. "Other than Kwan."

"Okay. You have a good point. Wulf is pretty closed off about his interests, except when he's staring at Kwan." Valerie rolled her green eyes. "But they're adorable when they curl up with each other in their animal forms."

Desiree tried to imagine it, remembering Kwan in his kitsune form curled up atop Wulf sleeping on the sofa. "Those two should not be as adorable as they are." She shook her head. "Maybe you could find something that has a wolf and a fox." She paused when she spotted a blonde woman a little ways ahead of them in the mall. "Oh, there's Dora!"

"The dragon girl?" Valerie lifted a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, there was something Paulina and I wanted to talk to her about." Desiree led the way over to the blonde woman standing against the wall and gazing up at the ceiling like she was waiting for something to happen. Sometimes the woman could be a little creepy, like whenever she stared deeply and for too long into someone's eyes. Desiree wasn't sure she ever wanted to learn what that was all about, but Dora was generally a nice person despite her weird quirks. "Hey, Dora!"

"Desiree," Dora greeted, bowing her head to the genie. A wary look entered her eyes as she turned her gaze onto the other woman. "Valerie. What brings you here?"

"I had something about the play I wanted to talk to you about," Desiree said with a sly grin that left Valerie looking confused but Dora seeming curious. "Danny really seems to be struggling with getting into the role of Prince Charming."

"He's so much better than the boys that auditioned," Dora argued, frowning like she thought Desiree might suggest she recast the role with one of the other men.

"Ugh, don't remind me!" Desiree shuddered at the memory of watching those men that auditioned for the role of Prince Charming in the play.

"They couldn't have all been that bad," Valerie said, her brow creasing at the genie's reaction.

"Have you ever seen Mikey audition for a role? He spits all over the place. And Lester!" Desiree cringed. "We don't talk about Lester."

"It was a grand disaster," Dora agreed with a miserable frowned as she recalled sitting through all the men at the auditions. "But Danny looked good for the role." She stared at Desiree. "Though the height difference with you two isn't ideal. I would have liked him a little taller to be your Prince. He just needs a bit more work, and he'll be great."

"True," Desiree agreed, knowing that if they rehearsed enough they could get Danny to relax about playing the role. "But think about this." She grinned widely as she wrapped an arm around Dora's shoulder and spread her free arm out before them. "Dash Baxter as Prince Charming spies from across the stage the adorable Princess played by Danny Fenton. Can't you just see it? The two falling in love in that scene, and then later, Dash has to fight the wicked Queen to rescue Danny and kiss him awake from the cursed sleep he's been placed under."

"You'd be willing to give up the role as Princess?" Dora blinked in surprise at the genie.

Desiree shrugged, a lock of her long ebony hair slipping past her shoulder to drape down in front of her. "I've been the lead role since freshmen year. I think I can step out of the spotlight this one time. Besides, you can't deny that Dash and Danny make a cute couple."

"That is true." Dora tilted her head thoughtfully. "I can rewrite the play!" Her eyes shone happily at the idea. "We're still months away from opening night. Everyone should have plenty of time to learn their new lines. I can have them be star crossed lovers, tragically kept apart from disapproving parents. We can have a good witch," she took Desiree's hands in her own, "trying to help the young lovers find a way to be together. While the wicked witch tries to keep them apart out of jealousy for she was determined to win the Prince's hand in marriage."

"And of course, there shall be a happy ending," Desiree added.

"Maybe with the two witches finding love with each other," Valerie put in with a smirk, "and then the wicked witch agrees to help the good witch in uniting the two Princes."

Dora gave a dreamy sigh as she clasped her hands in front of her. "Oh, how romantic! I'll have to get to work right away on the new script so that it's ready for when school starts again."

"Script writing?" The deep male voice surprised Desiree, who stumbled back to stand slightly behind Valerie as the man appeared around the corner. "I suppose that means we'll have less time together." His green eyes gazed down at Dora, who smiled back at him. The man had a scar crossing from the left side of his forehead all the way down to the right side of his jaw line that Desiree was certain she didn't want to ask him how he acquired it. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back in a loose, low ponytail with a few strands that slipped free to frame his face. He was tall and broad shouldered with obvious muscles from many long hours of training his body.

"This is my boyfriend," Dora told the other two women, "Fintan Kingston, but I like calling him the Fright Knight."

"The Fright Knight?" Valerie questioned with half a laugh, though the scar on his face did make him look quite frightening.

"My sword has been handed down for many generations, from knight to knight, and has been imbued with magical properties," he explained. "One slice of its blade sends its victim into a realm of nightmares."

"Isn't he just wonderful?" Dora gazed at him like he was the most magnificent man in the world.

"A knight and a dragon? Isn't that a kind of taboo relationship?" Valerie questioned as she glanced between the pair.

"And you wonder why she loves those tragic love stories so much," Desire whispered, nudging Valerie in the ribs. "Aren't you worried about your parents finding out?"

Dora's expression fell. "They don't approve of us together. That's why I was using Danny as a decoy boyfriend."

"My family raised me to be like the hunters of current times," Fintan said, frowning as he folded his arms. "They want me to slay dragons and slaughter the unnatural creatures of this world. But when I met Dora," he smiled down at her, "I fell in love. I'm not the same as my family. I've hung up the idea of the supernatural being evil. My blade will be used to protect, not to slaughter."

"He wasn't going to return for winter break, but after hearing about the recent murders, he decided he couldn't stay away." Dora wore a wistful expression, like she was imagining this being some big romantic gesture out of a tragic love story.

"Murders?" Desiree repeated with a look of alarm as she hugged her arms around her body.

"Oh, yeah, my dad mentioned something about a woman being found on Christmas eve," Valerie said.

Dora nodded and retrieved her phone from her purse. "They had an article about it." She held it out for the two women to look at the article on the phone's screen that included an image of the dead woman.

"She looks so young!" Desiree gasped, sickened by the sight of the woman laying there dead. The woman didn't even look much older than they were.

"Seventeen," Dora said with a frown. "They think she was raped and killed. Another body turned up just this morning. A fifteen year old this time."

"That's horrible!" Valerie's face twisted with disgust while the genie could only feel cold inside.

Desiree couldn't believe that something horrible like this was happening to those poor young women. "What kind of monster could do something like that?" Her voice held a tremble that she hoped those around her didn't notice.

"That's why Fintan wanted to return after I showed him the article," Dora answered. "He has a natural sense about the presence of evil. He wanted to protect me but also thought he might be better able to hunt down this monster than those here. He thought he felt its presence around here, but when we got here, he lost track of it."

"So this is where you ran off to!" Paulina approached the group with several bags of newly bought clothing in her hands. Behind her, Kwan and Wulf also had some bags, a much smaller amount, but they both looked satisfied with their purchases. One look at the serious expressions on the other four's faces made Paulina halt, a frown tugging down on her face. "What's going on?"

"There's something in town killing young women," Valerie answered, gaining a gasp from Paulina.

"Perhaps it's a good idea if we accompany the three of you around," Wulf said, his face deep and serious as his mouth thinned. "Not that I don't think you're a very capable fighter," he said with a nod to Valerie, "but just as a precaution."

Kwan nodded his agreement. "I'd hate for anything to happen to the three of you because you were wandering around alone."

"What noble knights you have!" Dora swooned at the protective responses from the two men.

"Except there are two of you," Desiree pointed at Kwan and Wulf, "but three of us." She circled her hand around to indicate Valerie, Paulina, and herself.

"Well, since you're always hanging around Paulina," Valerie said teasingly, "there shouldn't be any real problem with it."

"You can even sleep over," Paulina offered. "I don't like the idea of you going home alone." She frowned in worry for the genie.

"Do we have any idea who is killing these women?" Kwan asked.

"Something of the supernatural variety," Fintan answered, frowning as he glanced around the mall. "If it was a normal human, I wouldn't be able to sense it."

"Would you all like to join us for lunch?" Dora offered. "We can discuss more about the play's rewrite."

"You talked to her already about that?" Paulina asked, blinking in surprise at Desiree.

"I spotted her and thought it was a good opportunity." Desiree shrugged.

"Why don't you all go pick out a place, grab a table, and Wulf and I will take the bags to the car?" Kwan offered. Agreeing with that plan, Paulina passed her car keys to Kwan before piling all her bags into their hands. As the two men trekked off toward the exit of the mall, the rest of the group headed for the food court. Dora rambled on about the changes to the play as Fintan walked at her side with his arm wrapped around her waist.


	33. Chapter 33

"You still can't do it?"

Danny lost his concentration at the question, the small ice crystal that was forming between his hands shattering in an instant. "Maybe if you would stop talking for five seconds," he growled, narrowing his eyes at the shade floating before him.

"I'm surprised you managed to do that ice attack before." Dan faked a yawn with a dull, bored look in his eyes. "You can barely conjure up ice on your own. You still need water present to actually freeze anything. How long have you been working on this now? Five days?"

"I can't concentrate with you talking all the time!" Danny snapped, frustration building up in him. Ever since they struck the deal that Danny would help the shade to find a way for it to exist on this plane without having to give up his own life, Dan talked far too much, like he had no off switch.

"Oh, the scary eyes!" Dan taunted, wiggling his fingers as he grinned at the annoyance written across Danny's face. "You should be more careful. What if someone saw that flash of green? You're lucky you're hair only turns white when you use your powers."

"I know that already!" Danny was seriously tempted to blast Dan with a freeze ray, assuming that he could actually manage to do it. He couldn't explain why it worked when Dan attacked him. Maybe the situation enabled it, being threatened with death gave him the power and control to perform it.

"Danny, who are you talking too?"

Danny tensed at the voice coming from behind him. A tendril of frost spread outward from his bare feet, inching across the blanket spread under him while he practiced with his powers. When he twisted around, he gaped at the woman in the doorway of his bedroom. "Jazz!" Danny scrambled to his feet and launched toward the doorway, dragging his older sister into a tight hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you planned on not coming to visit. Ever."

"Well, I wasn't going to." Jazz frowned in that disapproving way whenever she thought about their parents and the work they did.

"You didn't say anything about having a sister?" Dan appeared at Jazz's side, staring at her with perhaps a touch of jealousy.

Danny ignored the question as he focused on his sister. "What changed you mind?"

"Well," Jazz said, dragging out the word as she glanced back toward the doorway. "I was convinced that the proper thing to do would be to introduce my boyfriend to my family, even if I don't agree with their crazy, crackpot ideas about the supernatural actually existing. And besides, it's important to me that you, at least, like him."

"Boyfriend?" Danny gawked at his sister, shocked at this news. "You never told me anything about a boyfriend!"

"Well, I don't tell you everything." Jazz placed her hands on her hips. "We've only been dating for the past six and a half months. And since we're off from school for the moment, this seemed like the best time to pay a visit. Danny, I'd like you to meet Frederich Showenhower."

The man stepped into the bedroom. A tall thin man, his nose was quite long and his head completely bald and his skin paler than anyone that Danny could think of, that was human. A triangular ruby dangled from his left ear. "Nice to meet you, Danny," Frederich greeted with a gleam in his brown eyes tinged with a red hue as he held out a hand to the younger man.

Danny blinked at the hand presented before him. "Uh, nice to meet you too," he said at last as he shook the hand, glad for the black gloves the man wore.

"He looks funny," Dan muttered, poking a finger at the man's nose. But being unable to touch anything other than Danny, his finger simply went through the long nose.

"Has he met Mom and Dad yet?" Danny asked, resisting the urge to shoo Dan away from Frederich, even if the bald man had no idea what the shade was doing.

"How do you think I was able to get in the house?" Jazz laughed as she ruffled Danny's raven locks. Then she stood back and placed her hands on her hips, glaring down at her brother as he tried to straighten out his hair again. "I hope you haven't been slacking off on your homework."

"We can't all be geniuses like you, Jazz," Danny grumbled, folding his arms with a pout. Beyond practicing with his powers, under Dan's annoying supervision, he spent his time under house arrest working on his homework, now that he had the time to actually focus on it. He knew his grades would probably improve a lot more if he didn't constantly have some threat encroaching upon his time. It was hard to read a book for English class while being terrorized by giant man-eating spiders.

"You don't look very much like siblings," Dan said, leaning in toward Jazz as he stared into her aqua colored eyes. "Plus she seems like the boring brainy type. How did you even end up in this family?" The question made Danny's eye twitch, and he bit his tongue to keep from yelling at Dan.

"Danny, are you feeling all right?" Jazz reached out a hand like she wanted to feel his forehead to check if he had a fever.

"I'm fine," Danny snapped a little more harshly than he meant to as he slapped the hand away, thankful for Jazz's long sleeved black shirt. Jazz frowned at his reaction, but before she could say anything more, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Danny darted past the other two as he jogged down the hallway to the stairs.

"There's something weird about that man," Dan grumbled, tagging along beside Danny.

"As long as he's making my sister happy, I'm not going to stand in her way," Danny mumbled quietly as he hurried down the stairs. He could hear footsteps behind him, alerting him to the fact that his sister and her boyfriend were following after him. Jazz didn't press her initial question when she walked into his room to find him talking to no one. Danny didn't want to give her more reasons to be concerned about him by continuing to seem to talk to himself in her presence. "She's had a hard time making friends with the way we move around. I'm happy she's found someone."

Dan leaned closer, eying the young man. "But you're concerned about him."

Danny nodded as subtly as he could. Despite his wish to be one hundred percent supportive and happy for Jazz, he couldn't ignore his brotherly concern for her or the nagging suspicion that crept into his brain for no good reason. When he reached the front door, Danny yanked it open.

"Oh, it's lover boy!" Dan cooed in a mocking high pitched squeal that made Danny glare at him.

"You okay there, Danny?" Dash frowned with concern when he noticed the expression on the other man's face.

"I'll tell you later," Danny murmured as he cast a glance over his shoulder to his sister and Frederich standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Who's that, Danny?" Jazz asked, lifting one delicate eyebrow as she folded her arms.

"This is Dash." Danny gestured to the blond man still standing on the doorstep. "And, Dash, this is my sister Jazz." He motioned to his sister. "Oh, and her boyfriend Frederich."

"And you complained to me?" Jazz slapped Danny on one shoulder. "You could have told me you had a boyfriend. It's not like I'm Mom." She rolled her eyes then reached out to shake hands with Dash. "And you managed to hook up with a jock?" she whispered, nudging Danny in the ribs as her brother turned several shades of red at the question.

"He's not actually a jock," Danny told her, trying hard to fight the blush.

"It's nice to meet you, Jazz." Dash glanced at Danny. "Um, I wanted to talk to Danny about something, and since he's grounded for the duration of the break, we only have a few hours to actually hang out."

"Oh, don't mind me then. You two lovebirds go have fun! We'll have plenty of time to talk later." Jazz shooed them out the front door. A smirk spread wide on her face, and her expression told Danny that she was expecting complete details about his relationship with Dash later when they could talk privately.

"You never mentioned anything about having a pretty sister," Dash said after the front door closed behind them.

"She's kept away from the family pretty much since she went off to college." Danny raked a hand through his hair as he led the way down the walkway from the house. "I wasn't even expecting her to come back for the winter break. She just sort of surprised me right before you came."

"So you said you were going to explain that whole angry glare thing?" Dash prodded, walking along side him.

"Oh, yeah." Danny heaved an exhausted sigh as Dan walked backwards ahead of them with a wide grin on his face. "Dan likes to tease me, especially when it could get me into trouble if I react to what he says. He's really annoying like that. Plus he never shuts up, so he talks all night long." Danny groaned, hanging his head.

"And Dan is?" Dash raised an eyebrow at the raven haired man.

"Uh, that would be the name the shade chose for himself." Danny winced as he looked away from Dash. Since his talk with Lancer, Danny hadn't actually mentioned the whole thing about the shade to anyone. He only gave them all a brief call to tell them about his grounding. "Before you freak out," he continued quickly, knowing Dash would explode in response to that comment, "Dan isn't a threat anymore. We're going to figure out a way to keep him from disappearing from this plane. If we do that, then he'll have no more reason to attack me. It's win win!"

"I'm not sure I like this," Dash said slowly as he frowned, his jaw clenched tightly like he was resisting the urge to shout out angrily about the shade lurking around Danny.

"Smart boy." Dan snickered.

Danny rolled his eyes at the shade. "It's not all that bad though. Dan's been helping me work on controlling my powers, in his obnoxiously annoying way. Which actually helps a lot since I don't have a lot of time to spend training with Lancer now that I'm grounded." He sighed at the frown pulling at Dash's face and that untrusting looking in his dark blue eyes. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" He hoped to turn the topic away from his tiring experience with Dan. With no one else able to see or hear him, Danny was the only one Dan could pester.

Dash sighed as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "I guess you haven't been following the news lately."

"No." Danny shook his head, frowning while he watched Dash pulling something up on his phone's screen. "I get three hours a day to hang out with friends. Beyond that, I'm allowed no phone or computer time, unless I need my computer for homework, and I'm not allowed to watch television."

"I got a call from Paulina earlier." Dash held out his phone toward Danny for him to take a look at the news article displayed on the screen. Even Dan came over to take a peek at what was happening. "Apparently, there's been three murders now."

Danny barely read over the article mentioning the women being found raped and murdered with their bodies left out in alleyways like garbage thrown out once used or broken. The images provided with the article chilled Danny, turning a sick feeling inside him. They were the same as the pictures he recalled from the news back in Wisconsin.

"Hey, hey! Don't look!" Dan covered Danny's eyes with his hand the moment he noticed the fear and panic consuming those brilliant blue eyes. It didn't help though, his body being too transparent and unable to hide the images of the dead women from him, but Danny closed his eyes when he felt the pressure of Dan's hand against his face.

"Danny, are you okay?" Dash asked with deep concern in his voice as he placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Yeah," Danny replied in a shaky, stuttering breath, though he hardly felt fine in that moment. He doubted either shade or man would believe him with the way his body couldn't stop shaking. Dash, he suspected, only held back from pulling Danny into his arms out of worry that it might throw the shorter man into another panic attack. "It's-" He clamped his eyes shut tighter, wishing he could forget those images of the dead women, forget his own nightmare. "It's the same. Those women look the same as the ones that turned up dead in Wisconsin when the incubus turned up there."

Dash's hand squeezed around Danny's shoulder, and Dan held onto him like a protective blanket, trying to keep Danny safe from the horror that haunted him. It should be weird to have the shade there with his transparent arms wrapped securely around him, but it reminded Danny of being in that dark place, especially with his eyes still closed, and seeking comfort in the only available presence at that time. Dan might have acted like a monster on the solstice and the following morning, but he wasn't totally evil, even if he lied to himself about his promise being true.

"Are you sure?" Dash asked, maybe with a hint of doubt, but that was drowned out by his worry. The presence of the incubus, especially if it was the same one, was something to be concerned about.

Danny nodded then dared to open his eyes, glancing between Dash and Dan, who wore the same concerned look. "We should tell Masters," he said firmly. "He'll want to know, assuming he hasn't figured it out already."

Nodding his agreement, Dash slipped his phone back into his pocket. "But are you sure you're okay?" The worry lingered in his eyes. "You looked pretty freaked out when you saw the pictures."

Danny shook his head. "I'm not, but I have to get past what happened." His firm blue eyes stared up, meeting Dash's gaze. "If I just sit back in a quivering mass of fear, then this thing gets to continue attacking people, killing them. I might be a victim, but it doesn't have to make me a coward."

"And this time, you'll have powers to fight against him," Dan pointed out.

"If I was any good at them," Danny muttered grumpily.

"What?" Dash's brow creased with confusion.

"Dan was talking." Danny waved his hands in the air out of frustration then pointed at the watch on his wrist, counting down the time. "Three hours! Let's not wasting time standing around here when we have something important to tell Masters."

With a nod, Dash walked around to the driver's side of his car and unlocked the door. Danny slipped into the passenger's seat while Dan sat in the backseat, folding his arms behind his head.

"At least your powers can affect him," Dan grumbled with an almost pout on his face, frustration showing in his eyes over the fact that he remained powerless to touch anything on this plane besides Danny.

"We can get an update from Lancer while we're talking to Masters," Danny said, twisting around in his seat to stare at the shade. "Maybe he's figured something out by now."

"Are you sure it's wise to help this thing out?" Dash frowned, keeping his gaze on the road as he drove toward Lancer's house. "What's to stop him from attacking you the moment you give him a way to stay alive on this plane of existence?"

"Aw, lover boy is so worried for you. How sweet." Dan narrowed his red eyes at Dash. "But I'll have no reason to attack you," his gaze flicked toward Danny, "once my existence here is secured. I just," his face scrunched up like he couldn't identify what he was feeling at that moment, "never expected that you would want to help me achieve that."

"You know, sometimes attacking shouldn't be your first response." Danny ignored the questioning look Dash sent him, briefly tearing his eyes from the road. "If you had simply talked to me from the beginning, we could have worked things out."

"Do you talk with him like this a lot? Because it sort of makes you look a little crazy."

With a frown, Danny punched Dash on the arm, who didn't even make an attempt to hide his amusement. "I try to only respond to him when no one's around to overhear. But with you, it doesn't matter if you overhear us."

Dash rolled his eyes as he parked outside Lancer's house. "When were you planning to tell us you made nice with the shade?" He leveled a serious look on Danny, who shrank down in the passenger's seat.

"Well, I hadn't really," Danny responded awkwardly as he glanced away.

"Danny-"

"Oh, lover boy's angry!" Dan teased, snickering from the backseat.

"You can't keep everything a secret," Dash continued, unaware of Dan's comment. "I understand you keeping the rape to yourself. That's not an easy thing to talk about, and I know that was a huge step for you. But the shade? That's something I expect you to tell us about. Or did you forget how it tried to kill you?"

Danny dropped his gaze with a miserable feeling. "He only wanted to live." He frowned as he glanced over at Dash. "I didn't actually mean for it to be a big secret. With the grounding and all."

"Oh no." Dash shook his head. "Don't blame this on that. You could have said something over the phone."

Dan shoved his head in the way, barely blocking Danny's view of Dash with his transparent face. "You have a time limit, remember?" He stared flatly with his red eyes.

"Okay! I promise for real. I won't keep any more secrets." Danny hurriedly climbed out of the car before Dash could continue pushing the topic. Maybe telling Dash about Dan over the phone would have been the better choice, Danny realized with a tired sigh. He jogged up to the front door and rang the doorbell while Dash got out of the car.

"Daniel," Lancer said when he opened the door. His eyebrow lifted curiously at the sight of his student on his doorstep. "I hope you aren't about to tell me something has gone wrong with the shade."

"Can't they just call me Dan?" He folded his arms grumpily. "The shade sounds so lame."

"Only him being annoying." Danny sighed tiredly as Dash reached them. "No, nothing to do with Dan. We wanted to talk to Masters if he's here."

"Of course." A slight twitch of his lips curled a smirk onto his face that left Danny and Dash not wanting to know what the two men did when alone in the house. Lancer ushered them into his house. "He's in the front room."

"What's going on now?" Masters asked, setting down the book he was reading when the group entered the front room. He wasn't alone either. In one of the chairs sat a tall, lanky man wearing round glasses with his nose buried in a book. The room was lit more than usual, offering only a bit more light for the men to read.

"What's Gore doing here?" Dash pulled a face, not sure he wanted the answer.

"William happens to be my apprentice," Lancer explained as he took a seat. "We've been researching a means to help with the little shade problem."

"Who are you calling little?" Dan demanded, his fiery hair seeming to dance even higher with a rage in his eyes.

"Careful," Danny cautioned with a yelp. "You'll waste away like that." Taking heed to the warning, Dan took deep calming breaths until his powers were under control again. Danny shifted awkwardly when everyone's gazes landed on him.

"And," Lancer called back everyone's attention, "we may have figured out a way to do it. We'll need your help in doing this ritual, Daniel."

"Oh, sure!" Danny agreed immediately despite having no idea what the ritual would entail.

"What exactly is this ritual?" Dash did _not_ look confident about any sort of magic ritual that would include Danny and the shade in some fashion.

Masters coughed loudly. "I do believe you boys came all the way over here to tell me something." Frowning, he waited to hear what new threat was endangering his students.

"It's about those girls that were murdered," Dash said then glanced at Danny to continue.

"It was an incubus that killed them," Danny said, trying to keep a firm voice, but it wavered slightly. He caught the serious expression on Lancer's face, anger and pain for his student's suffering flashing in his eyes. "And I'm positive about that."

"I don't doubt that." Masters stood with a troubling look. "I was afraid that might be the case the moment the first body turned up. This is a decent sized town and there are other schools beyond Casper High. The three young ladies that were killed weren't my students, so I didn't receive that notice of them being hurt or I would have gone to stop what was happening to them." He came to stand before Danny. "You, Daniel," he placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, "I want you to stay in your home as much as possible while this threat is out there."

"But I'm not a virgin," Danny pointed out, and even as the words left his mouth, he felt a chill gripping his insides as his body trembled just barely visibly. Anger washed through Masters' dark blue eyes, and Gore gaped openly at that declaration. They were the only ones in the room that weren't informed about his rape, though Masters clearly jumped to the right conclusion from Danny's comment. "I meant-" He coughed when his voice cracked. "The incubus prefers virgins, especially females, though it will make an exception for a male victim if that man is desirable enough to the incubus. Since I'm not a virgin, that means I should be safe."

"No, Daniel, it doesn't." Masters pinched his nose as he sighed out, like he was trying to explain something very simple to someone who just couldn't understand. "If this happens to be the same incubus and he sees you, what's to stop him from wanting to finish what he started with you? Maybe you're not a virgin anymore, but you've seen him."

"And from what you told me, it sounds like your scent was very attractive to him," Lancer added, frowning severely at the possibility that the same incubus that raped and killed Danny might be in their town. "He might not care that he took your virginity. He might want to feed on you again."

That announcement left Danny feeling very cold and frightened inside. He never gave consideration to the thought that the incubus might want a second go at him. He didn't realize how badly he was shaking until he felt Dash and Dan's arms around him, giving him warm comfort.


	34. Chapter 34

"So your dad hasn't found out anything new about the recent murders?" Wulf questioned as the three of them lounged in the front room of Valerie's house.

Kwan looked up from the book on fae that Valerie found among her mother's things to stare at the werewolf. Since their trip to the mall, they took turns going out with Valerie, Paulina, and Desiree anytime the three women wished to go somewhere, but they were mostly sticking to their homes if they didn't have a necessary reason to go out somewhere. None of the three women wished to be treated like they were some helpless damsels, but they understood the two men simply wanted to ensure their safety, especially when the victims were being raped before being murdered. They were less likely to become victims themselves if they traveled in groups.

Valerie shook her head, frowning at the two men. "I snuck peeks at the files my dad was looking at regarding the murders, but from what I saw, they can't identify who raped them. There was no usable DNA from the murderer from the rape. It's like whatever attacked these women was a ghost or something."

"And from what Paulina said last time, Dora and Fintan haven't been able to get a lock on this guy," Kwan added as he closed the book. It was an interesting read, but there was only so much he could learn from a book. Not everything about kitsune was detailed within it. "He appears on occasion, but then he vanishes before Fintan can catch up to him. The ghost theory almost sounds good. But could a ghost manifest a physical form to actually interact with people in that way? And why would it be raping and killing these women?"

"So maybe it's something else?" Valerie sighed as she turned the page in the book she was reading. After they met with Dora and Fintan in the mall, Valerie broke out all the books that she could find from her mother, hoping that they could uncover some clue about what the creature was. So far, however, they came up empty handed even after hours of skimming through the books. Even Wulf had a book in his lap, flipping through the pages with great care not to damage them. "Maybe we should call Danny. He might know something since he's had plenty of experience dealing with a variety of different supernatural creatures."

"It might be worth a try," Wulf agreed as he turned another page. "But isn't he grounded? We might not be able to talk to him for very long."

"We could just give him the quick details," Kwan offered with a shrug. "He can call us back if he figures anything out." Standing up, he set his book down on the coffee table. "Snacks? Drinks?" he offered, ready to head for the kitchen to grab them some food and drinks.

But before either of them could answer, a knock sounded at the front door. The three of them exchanged glances, none of them expecting a random visitor.

"Stall," Valerie whispered urgently as she started gathering up the various books on the supernatural. They only felt comfortable leaving them out in the front room at the moment because her father was busy at work and wouldn't walk in to the room and find them reading about the supernatural. Wulf quickly followed Valerie's lead to gather up the books to hide them out of sight of whomever decided to pay them with a visit.

Kwan headed into the front hall while the other two carried the armfuls of books toward the kitchen. When he cracked open the front door, he blinked at the person standing on the doorstep. "Dash?" Kwan opened the door wider, staring in confusion at the blond man before him. "What are you doing here?" He began to think of the other man as a friend after he started joining them all at lunch in the theater, but he didn't expect Dash to turn up at Valerie's house without any warning.

"Was this not the right form?" Dash stepped into the house, glancing around the front hallway with a dull look in his dark blue eyes. "I was under the impression that this man was one of your friends. Well, I suppose mistakes happen every once and a while." He waved a hand next to his head, and the door that Kwan still held open jerked out of his hand and closed with a soft click of the lock sliding into place.

"What?" Kwan gaped at the door, his hand still held out like it was closed around the doorknob. "How did you do that?"

Dash turned his head as a sly, fox like smirk spread onto his face. "That's only the tip of the iceberg." He turned around, stepping closer to Kwan, who backed up until he hit the door and couldn't put any more space between them.

"Who _are_ you?" Kwan demanded because this was obviously not Dash. He narrowed his aqua green eyes at the impostor before him.

"When we sensed the presence of another kitsune at the solstice celebration," Dash's face shifted, red bleeding into the dark blue of his eyes. His body lost much of its bulk, leaving behind a tall, lean bodied man wearing a trench coat and a hat. Behind the mystery man, Kwan caught the wiggle of seven silver tails, and his mouth gaped open in realization. "But I never expected that new kitsune would be a fabled black one." The man reached up and plucked a strand of hair from Kwan's head, making the jock wince. When he held the hair up before him, a wicked gleam flashed through his red eyes. "So young with so much potential yet you've already chosen a mate." His gaze focused back on Kwan. "A werewolf even."

"Who are you?" Kwan repeated, still not sure how to react to a random kitsune appearing on Valerie's doorstep.

"Who was at the door, Kwan?" Valerie asked as she and Wulf appeared in the doorway from the front room. She came to a shocked halt when she spotted the man standing before her friend. Wulf growled as he narrowed his green eyes at the silver kitsune.

"Ah, and there's your mate now," the other kitsune whispered to Kwan with a devious look in his eyes. "I suppose the proper custom is to make introductions. My name is Amorpho. You may have seen me before." His form changed again, taking on the likeness of Kwan though he kept his eyes red instead of adopting Kwan's aqua green coloring. "Or perhaps you wouldn't have." When he smirked, the devious expression unsettled Kwan. "I'm a master of disguise."

"What do you want?" Wulf demanded, putting himself between Kwan and Amorpho.

"A commendable choice," Amorpho said as he smirked past the growling werewolf to Kwan, who still couldn't decide what exactly this other kitsune wanted. So far, Amorpho showed no interest in attacking them. "That vampire Vlad Masters contacted our clan in search of a kitsune willing to come teach a newly realized kitsune how to use his magic. I thought it might be amusing to watch you struggle to control your new abilities."

"I'm so glad I can amuse you," Kwan muttered dryly, not sure how much he liked the idea of this kitsune being his teacher, though he was in need of someone to teach him what he could do. Book learning wasn't as helpful in this case as actual hands on experience.

"You don't exactly instill a great deal of trust," Valerie said as she folded her arms, narrowing her green eyes at the impostor posing as her friend at that moment.

"And the daughter of a well known family of hunters." Amorpho strolled over to Valerie, circling around the woman. "Amazing that you're now living with a werewolf and a kitsune now." He smirked as he leaned in close from behind her, placing his head close to her ear. Valerie gritted her teeth, clearly struggling with the urge to punch the silver kitsune. "That's sure to be a curious tale to hear."

"Yeah, maybe we'll tell it to you sometime when you're not being a complete and total creepy weirdo." Valerie twisted her head around to glower at the kitsune behind her.

Amorpho chuckled. "Prankster, trickster, being mischievous. That's all in the nature of being a kitsune." He snapped his red gaze to Kwan, who remained behind the protective shield of Wulf. "Something you're greatly lacking in so far."

Kwan frowned at that comment, but another thought wiggled its way into his mind. Placing a hand on Wulf's shoulder, Kwan stepped forward as the werewolf relaxed only a tiny amount at his touch. "Does your clan know anything about my real parents?" When he learned the truth about how he came to live with the Longs, he felt abandoned and alone, realizing his real parents, or at least his mother, didn't want him. It was a fact that left a sharp pain inside him, but if any of the local kitsune knew anything, he wanted answers, wanted to know why he was given up to a human family.

The amusement faded from Amorpho's face as he stood up straighter. "I'm afraid I have no information to give you in that regard." He frowned as he leaned away from Valerie. "There were rumors that a mother exchanged her child for a human infant, but I always assumed there was no truth to that." He smirked as he walked closer to Kwan. "It's quite surprising to learn that it really happened. Birthing the first black kitsune in more than a thousand years? Your mother must have feared for your life when she cast a glamour upon you and left you in the hands of a pair of humans. You have plenty of potential in you to become a great power, but that also leaves you being a desirable pawn for anyone wishing to use that power."

"Or for a weirdo alien jerk," Valerie grumbled with her arms folded, her hands gripping her biceps with enough strength to leave bruises there.

Amorpho raised his brow at her then glanced back to Kwan. "So that alien knows what you are."

Kwan nodded. "He wants me for his collection. He likes rare and unique things, and I fit the bill."

Amorpho placed a hand to his chin in thought. "I see. The vampire left out that detail. I understand now why he seemed so urgent in his search to find a teacher for you. He wants you to master some skills quickly to defend yourself against this alien." His red eyes glanced around the front hallway of the house. "I think teaching you protection skills would be the best place to start. This house is very poorly protected from threats, but you should be able to erect a decent barrier, even at your current level to keep the alien from being able to attack you within this home."

"That's good. I'd hate to have to explain to my dad why house got destroyed if Skulker ever did decide to attack us here," Valerie said with dread in her green eyes.

"Well, he's not likely to attack," Wulf reminded them, still eying the silver kitsune warily. "It would break the oath and leave him with a stricter punishment for having broken it."

"A protection barrier would still be a good idea. If we ever did get into a fight with Skulker, it would be good to have safe places to seek refuge in," Kwan said, wishing they didn't have to deal with Skulker any longer. He wouldn't mind if they could simply fast forward to the part where Skulker was no longer a threat to him or anyone else. "Lancer's house is already a good place to hide, but having more than one safe haven would be wise."

"Excellent! Then we can begin with your first lesson." Amorpho grinned as he approached his fellow kitsune, but Kwan raised a hand to stop him.

"How does this whole teaching thing work?" Kwan wanted to know as he frowned at the false him, blinking red eyes back at him. "You're not going to spirit me away into the forest to live among your clan of kitsune to teach me everything, right? Because if that's the way it's going to be, I'm going to have to say no. I'm not interested in giving up my life here, and I'm especially not leaving my friends." He folded his arms as he narrowed aqua green eyes at the other kitsune. Several days ago at the solstice, Kwan might have willingly disappeared into the forest and vanish from society after realizing his presence in the Longs' home was no longer accepted. But he had Wulf and Valerie who wanted to give him a real home and a real family. He wasn't leaving them, even if it meant learning more about what he could do with his magic.

Amorpho glanced at Valerie with her determined glare, threatening a fight if the silver kitsune so much as thought of taking her best friend away from her. Then he turned to Wulf, who bared his teeth, showing off sharpening fangs that would eagerly tear into the kitsune's flesh if Amorpho tried to get between him and Kwan. A smirk slipped onto his face as Amorpho finally landed his gaze back on Kwan.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Amorpho said, and the look in his red eyes made Kwan wonder if he was holding back another comment about him and Wulf. "Anyway, I'll get to have far more fun lurking around this town pretending to be unsuspecting humans."

"I don't like that idea," Valerie said. "You better not go around pretending to be me."

"You seem like you're a powerful kitsune," Wulf said, taking note of the silver tails that remained visible despite his disguise.

"But of course," Amorpho said with a slight narrowing of his eyes. "It would be foolish to send an amateur to teach someone as young as our friend here." He gestured toward Kwan.

"Then you must have some idea about the murders that have been taking place recently." At Wulf's comment, Kwan and Valerie both looked toward Amorpho, waiting for his response.

"We don't generally pay a whole lot of attention to criminals in town." Amorpho shrugged, but he frowned with a serious look in his eyes. "It's none of our business if there's some human causing problems here. But it's unusual for something of supernatural origin to turn up here to kill. This town is meant to be a safe haven where the supernatural and humans can co-exist in peace. We don't take kindly to our kind coming into town and disturbing our quiet life." He folded his arms, frowning darkly, and Kwan still couldn't get over seeing someone else wearing his face. Though he guessed it wasn't really his face at all, he realized sadly.

"But you must have some idea of what it is, right?" Valerie asked curiously. "We've been scanning through some of my mother's books, but we can't find anything that matches what's happened to those women."

Amorpho nodded. "I doubt your mother would have an information on this creature." He smirked at the glower that flashed over Valerie's face. "I meant no offense. I simple doubt that she would have encountered an incubus in her time."

"An incubus?" all three of them exclaimed in shock at that news.

"Even the most unwilling of victims will be aroused by an incubus if he decides to use his pheromones on them." Amorpho sneered, anger in his eyes. "Kitsune aren't exactly innocent in luring humans into sexual encounters, but we don't usually do so with the intent to rape and kill. There are some that take pleasure in tearing into human flesh and leaving their intestines strewn out over the ground."

"I don't want to hear any more about that," Kwan cut in, feeling sick at the idea of ever doing that.

"Like I said, we aren't all guilty of that," Amorpho assured him. "But with every type of supernatural being, there's an ugly side to being a kitsune, but that doesn't mean you have to be like those ones that give us a bad name. Anyway, the incubus likes to lure young virgin girls to him and feeds on their life energy while raping them. But this incubus was foolish to step foot into council territory. That vampire no doubt already has some idea of what is killing those girls. He'll be hunting it by night."

"But that leaves this shit face free to move and attack during the day," Valerie said, folding her arms as she frowned, definitely not liking the sound of an incubus in town.

"You three are not getting hurt on my watch." Amorpho gave that look like he knew the three of them would go out looking for the incubus the first moment they got the chance.

"Fintan," Kwan said and received a confused look from Amorpho. "He's a knight, and he's been able to sense this incubus, but it seems to disappear before he get close to it."

"That's unusual. Even more unusual that you were able to speak with a knight and not get cut down by his sword." Amorpho blinked in surprise that Kwan, and Wulf as well, met a knight and lived. "They're usually more dedicated to the cause of eradicating the supernatural than hunters."

"He fell in love with a female dragon kin," Valerie explained.

"Oh, taboo love. That's interesting!" Amorpho grinned widely before returning to the immediate problem. "I've never heard of an incubus being able to mask his presence, especially from a knight. Unless," he pressed a hand to his chin, falling into deep thought, "he managed to find a way to cloak it."

"How could he do that?" Kwan asked.

"There are plenty of ways. Mystical artifacts, employing a magical being or witch to create something that could accomplish it. But for now," Amorpho looked toward Kwan, "shall we practice protection spells? That should ensure you will be safe from the threat of an incubus as well as the alien."


	35. Chapter 35

Dan folded his arms as he watched the pair of witches marking out a magical circle on the floor in the basement of the house. He wasn't sure he believed this whole ritual they came up with would actually work. Even that stupid vampire didn't look convinced that this ritual was a good idea. And lover boy, Dan sneered at the blond man, kept close to Danny, asking for what was probably the thousandth time by now if he was certain about doing this. If he had the ability at the moment, Dan might try to set that nuisance on fire. He glanced at Danny, whose bright blue eyes flicked toward him at the same moment. With a huff, he snapped his gaze away from the man. He doubted that Danny would continue to agree with this plan if he _did_ do something to his lover boy, and Dan was definitely _not_ going to fade out of existence after waiting this long to escape from that wretched dark realm.

The dark realm. Dan shuddered in memory of that place. It was cold and lonely and filled with darkness for as far as the eye could see. Time meant nothing while trapped within that realm, and not even he was aware of how long he spent there. It could have been since the dawn of time for all he knew. Being trapped in that wasted realm though was enough to drive anyone crazy. When Danny's soul appeared within that dark realm, Dan couldn't describe the relief he felt to know that he wasn't alone anymore. When he felt the magic trying to draw Danny out of the dark realm, Dan grabbed at the chance to leave with him because no spell would be strong enough without a little boost from the realm where the soul was trapped to make the spell a success. Danny could have achieved it on his own, if he knew how.

"How exactly does this whole thing work?" Dan asked, wondering how long it would take the witches to set up everything that was necessary for the ritual. His time was running short, though he wasn't entirely sure how much time he had left. After expending quite a bit of his existence on his prior attacks against Danny, Dan felt weaker, though he preferred not to tell that to anyone. He didn't like to be thought of as weak. He had plenty of nonexistent time to develop his strength in that dark realm as there really wasn't much else to do but hone his skills. Fire, however, didn't seem to affect that darkness. His fire cast no light in the darkness and offered no warmth, yet he knew somehow that it burned in his hand whenever he summoned it.

"It's a simple incantation derived from an ancient alchemic formula," Lancer explained after Danny relayed the question. He sprinkled a powdery substance into the bowl in the center of the magic circle. "We've made some adjustments to it, infused it with concepts from witchcraft, and," he poured a thick stream of silvery liquid into the bowl, "Daniel will be the final key to making this all work. Without him, we could never achieve success with this ritual."

"That bodes a lot of confidence," Dash grumbled, folding his arms as he frowned at this teachers. "What happens to Danny if this doesn't work?" Dash was clearly worried for the man at his side, and Dan admitted he was concerned for Danny's safety as well. This ritual was something never before performed and risked utter failure. They lacked any means to practice the ritual to test it out before doing it for real. Failure could result in both of them losing their lives instead of only one.

"I assure you we wouldn't even be attempting this if Daniel's life was at risk," Lancer said firmly as he struck a match. "I would never endanger my student's life." When he dropped the match into the bowl, the ingredients within it flashed with a bang, the smoke billowing briefly into the air before leaving only a small green fire burning in the bowl.

"That's a good sign," Gore said as he scanned something in the book he held.

"Now, Daniel, you'll need to stand in the middle of the circle," Lancer instructed, pointing to where the burning bowl sat. Dan watched the way Danny's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped before the young man stepped forward to stand before the bowl. His bright blue eyes glowed green in the light of the flame.

"And we'll need the shade to stand before him," Gore said as he took his gaze away from the book to flick around the basement like he could actually see the invisible entity. Dan snorted at the man's poor attempt as he pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger. When Danny's gaze turned to him, Dan sighed and walked over to stand before the other man. Folding his arms again, he frowned in annoyance at the witches.

"All right. He's there," Danny announced since no one else would know where Dan stood without him telling them.

"Daniel," Lancer said, stepping up beside his student, and Dan glowered at the balding witch. "You'll need to stab this knife through both your hand and the shade's hand and keep them held over the bowl until I tell you to remove it."

"What?" Dash shouted with the same anger and concern Dan felt surging up in him at those words. Even the vampire didn't look pleased with this idea.

"Are you sure?" Danny asked hesitantly as he eyed the knife warily.

"It's imbued with healing properties." Lancer rolled up his sleeve to the elbow. Then he pressed the tip of the blade into his arm and dragged it downward. Blood beaded up along the cut carved into his flesh, but a moment after the blade passed by, the cut healed over, leaving no signs that he even slit his arm with the knife. "Once you remove the knife, it'll take slightly longer to heal, but it will heal quite quickly nonetheless. I wouldn't ask you to do something that causes permanent physical damage to you."

"I guess he's smart enough to at least think most of this through," Dan grumbled, though he still wasn't entirely certain about the whole thing.

"If you want to keep in existence here, I suggest you not complain about the method," Danny muttered as he took the knife from Lancer. "Do I just stab right now?" He turned uncertain blue eyes onto his teacher.

"Let me step out of the circle first." Lancer backed up until he stood beyond the outer ring of the magic circle. Dash and Vlad kept their distances, standing pressed against the walls as they watched in tense silence. Gore lingered at Lancer's side, handing the older man the spell book. "All right, Daniel. Stab your hands."

Danny held out his left hand toward Dan, who remained hesitant about this whole ritual. But after seeing the trust in Danny's eyes, Dan resigned himself to going through with it. He took hold of Danny's hand with his left hand. Gripping the handle of the knife tightly, Danny took a deep breath, preparing himself. Then he stabbed the sharp blade through both their hands, and they both winced, biting their tongues to hold back shouts of pains in an almost mirrored reaction. Dark red blood flowed from Danny's hands, dripping into the green flames within the bowl. From Dan's transparent hand oozed a see through green substance that mixed with Danny's blood as it spilled into the bowl as well.

"I'll need complete silence for this next part," Lancer announced, glaring around at everyone in that manner that would immediately silence a noisy classroom of misbehaving students. When all was quiet, he recited the spell in a loud, clear voice, though only he, and Gore, understood the ancient language in which the spell was written.

The magic circle around them lit up with a soft white glow along the lines etched into the floor. Dan gritted his teeth as a wind whipped around them, though it only seemed to effect him and Danny, who winced and clamped his eyes shut. Holding tight to Danny's hand, Dan kept the man from pulling his arm in toward him instead of keeping their hands over the bowl of burning ingredients. Wispy fog spilled from the bowl, crawling over the floor, reaching for the edges of the circle but unable to go beyond the outer line like an invisible barrier stood in its way. The glow of the magic circle shifted colors, icy blue and bright green glowing through the mist.

When the flames in the bowl went out, Danny shouted suddenly, dropping to his knees. Yanked down with him, Dan gritted his teeth as he grabbed hold of Danny's forearm with his right arm. He could feel Danny's pain like it was own, maybe it even was, as the sparks of dark green magic danced over their bodies. Something was ripping, and Dan screamed out along with Danny. The spot where the knife was buried in their hands burned with a searing heat but froze with a biting chill.

"Danny!" Dash's voice reached through the noise of their screams and the popping sounds of magic and the rush of wind circling around them, spinning the fog like a little whirlwind. "You're hurting him!"

"Silence! You'll break his concentration," Gore snapped with a huff.

"Danny, remove the knife now," Lancer ordered loudly.

Danny grabbed hold of the knife, struggling to pull it free from their joined hands. The knife refused to come out easily, like it fused itself to their hands. Dan wrapped his right hand around Danny's hand, and with a hard pull from both of them, the knife came free. Twin screams filled the air as the knife was tossed away, clattering as it skidded across the floor. A burning smell like cooked flesh hit Dan's nose before a wrenching pain forced him to recoil away from Danny, dragging the man toward him and knocking over the bowl between them. Thick smoke clouded the air, hiding them from those gathered outside the magic circle, as sparks of blue and green danced through the covering. Dan couldn't think of the words to describe what was happening. He felt heavier somehow, each intake of breath feeling different, his lungs aching and burning like he spent hours holding his breath.

The smoke slowly dissipated, clearing away as the static noise of the lingering magic faded. Danny released a startled yelp as he held on tight to Dan's hand. When he glanced at the young man, Dan gave a short laugh, watching Danny bob in the air, anchored only by his hold on Dan. Glowing green eyes narrowed at Dan, and snow white hair ruffled slightly in the breeze left from the whirlwind that took place during the spell.

"It's not funny!" Danny shouted in annoyance at Dan's amusement. "How do I get down?"

"What exactly happened?" Dash asked numbly, unable to take his eyes off the floating Danny.

"The ritual called for the use of alchemy," Lancer explained, though he sounded a little stunned with the results. "Alchemy requires exchanges in order for the formula to work. Daniel must have acquired some of the shade's abilities in exchange for him giving the shade a physical body. They're forever linked to each other now."

"That doesn't help me with the getting down part!" Danny shouted, starting to panic.

Dan rolled his eyes. "It's just like when you were practicing with your powers. Calm your mind and concentrate on lowering yourself to the ground."

Danny's worried glowing green eyes met Dan's gaze. For a moment, he remained in a panic, but then he let his eyes slip shut. Taking deep, calming breaths, his body slowly lowered to the ground until his feet touched down on the floor. After he blinked his eyes open, Danny grinned. "Whoa! I can fly now?"

"And probably more," Lancer answered.

"What about his appearance?" Dash demanded. "He can't go walking around like that."

"What's wrong with the way I look?" Danny blinked in confusion, and Dan held back a snicker in response.

"Erehas rorrimat," Gore incanted with an arm raised out before him.

A cloud of mist cascaded down next to where Dan and Danny stood. When it washed away, a tall, full length mirror with a wooden frame topped by birds that looked like they might be crows was left behind. Danny turned to look into the mirror then released a startled shout when he took in the sight of his reflection. He gazed into his glowing green eyes. His fingers threaded through snowy white hair as his mouth hung open.

Then he took in the rest of appearance, his clothing matching closely to what Dan wore though lacking the same amount of armor and his colors inverted from Dan. A turtle necked black jumpsuit covered his entire body, to gloved hands and booted feet. White material wrapped over his arms and legs from wrist to elbow and ankle to knee, held in place with black straps. A strip of white ran up the sides of his legs, over his hips, and disappeared under a white chest plate of armor. A piece stiff black fabric wrapped around his shoulders with a ghostly white D logo printed on the front of the fabric. A white cape draped behind him, reaching only to his waist, and a black eye mask covered his face.

"I, uh-" Danny blinked down at his body then glanced around at everyone present. "I didn't always change like this when I used my powers, right?" His voice held a hint of fear, and Dan could make a guess as to where his mind went with that question. Days ago, when Dan attacked him, Danny managed to use his ice powers to attack. If anyone witnessed that, especially with a costume changed, his secret wouldn't be so secret for long. But considering the amount of time that passed since then, Dan believed there was little reason to worry about being seen. Some news would have circulated about it by now if he was caught.

"No," Lancer and Dan answered together, having both seen Danny using his powers previously. "Before," Lancer continued, "it was only your eyes and hair that changed."

Danny frowned, tugging at the white strands of his hair. Then he glanced Dan over before he turned his attention onto his teacher. "By why did I end up like this?" He waved his arms up and down his body then tugged the cape outward, flapping it like makeshift wings.

"Possibly another manifestation of the exchange between the two of you," Gore offered, glancing between them with a curious look in his green eyes, perhaps interested in this unexpected development with their ritual. "Daniel adopted some of the shade's appearance when using his powers. And the shade-"

"Dan," he insisted, narrowing his red eyes at the bookish man.

" _The shade_ ," Gore continued with a seething hunch of his shoulders, "could also have taken on some of Daniel's appearance if he decided to take on a more," he wrinkled his nose at the muscular entity before him with flaming white hair, "human form."

"So this isn't a permanent thing?" Dash asked as his dark blue eyes traveled over Danny's body. Dan frowned darkly when he thought he saw a hint that Dash liked Danny with this appearance as well.

"What, I don't make a dashing superhero?" Danny grinned, striking a lame hero pose that made Dash laugh as he shook his head.

"I would venture a guess," Masters pushed away from the wall, "that it's like anything else with abilities. He merely needs to concentrate, and he'll be able to assume his human appearance again. But, Daniel," his dark blue eyes bore into his student, "it was your choice to save Dan, which means he is now your responsibility."

Danny gulped, the amusement fleeing his expression. "But he has no reason to attack me anymore, so it's all good now." He gave a hopeful look, and apparently having done as Masters suggested, his unusual appearance reverted back to his normal human identity.

"While that may be true, the two of you share a strong bond, and his existence is tied to you." Masters stood before Danny as he folded his arms behind his back and stared down his nose. "That means any misbehaving he does is on your head. If he steps out of line, you'll be called before the council as well. We will have to think of something for him to do now that he can be seen by others. He'll need a means of support, perhaps a place to live."

"I'm not exactly human," Dan reminded.

"I'll say." Dash snorted at him as he stood at Danny's side.

Dan glared at him before turning back to the vampire. "In this form, I don't require human sustenance to survive."

"No, but you do now carry a human side, thanks to the exchange with Daniel." Masters' calm expression grated on Dan's nerves. "There might be times when that side of you requires human sustenance, and for that you require money. To earn money, you shall need to work for it, which means a job. You are also new to this world, which means you lack knowledge of its ways and customs; thus, you shall also need to be educated. We can make arrangements for all of this."

Dan folded his arms and turned his glare away from the silver haired man. "It's not like I'm completely ignorant of this world. I did spent eight months living inside Danny."

"Ew!" Dash made a face as he stepped a little more between Danny and Dan.

"I gathered quite a bit of information from Danny about this world," Dan continued with a sour glare at Dash.

"That's merely a start," Masters said with a quick glance at Danny. "Daniel's grades aren't exactly the best, but I'm sure you've learned a great deal in regards to the supernatural creatures that exist within this world."

"Yes," Dan agreed as he stepped closer to Masters, trying to use his superior build to loom over the vampire. "And if this incubus in town is the same one that hurt Danny before, then I won't hesitate to rip it to shreds, regardless of any rules and regulations your _council_ may have."

" _If_ it's the same incubus, I only ask that you get confirmation from Daniel of that fact," Masters said, narrowing his eyes hardly intimidated by Dan's display. "So long as it's the same one, I'm sure Daniel's testimony will be enough to convince the council that your actions in killing it was justified. Confirmation," Masters stressed. "Then you have my blessing to do as you wish with the incubus."

Dan smirked at the vampire that he could learn to like. Clearly, Masters wanted to make the incubus that raped his student pay, and painfully, if it dared to show its face again around Danny. The vampire had a cunning dark side. Dan liked it.

"This whole thing is all great, and I really appreciate the help with this, Lancer," Danny said, chewing on his lower lip as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. "But I've only got around half an hour to get home before it's a full on grounding for me." He pointed at the face of the watch, still slowly counting down the minutes.

"Ah, yes," Masters agreed with a sage nod. "This is your break after all. I wouldn't want to cause any further limitations to you having fun with your friends. We can discuss more about arrangements for Dan later."

"I-" Danny struggled with his words when he looked toward Lancer. "Really, thank you so much for doing this, Sir!"

Lancer smirked as he folded his arms. "I should probably thank you as well. I haven't had a challenge like this in a while. Desiree's lamp being another matter. Though I'm fairly certain an attempt like this with anyone else would have failed."

"He's staying behind, right?" Dash asked with a thumb jabbed in Dan's direction.

"I promised to keep Danny safe." Dan was still very tempted to set Dash on fire, but he knew that would come back to bite him for several different reasons.

"Yeah, but you in my house?" Danny cringed. "Too many questions. Even if you came with us looking like a normal human."

"Then I simply just have to go unseen." Dan grinned widely as he faded out of sight from everyone's gaze.

"Whoa! Can I do that?" Danny asked excitedly.

"Most likely," Lancer answered as he ushered Dash and Danny toward the stairs leading out of his basement. "But it would be wiser to discuss it at your house. If you don't want to be further grounded, that is." Danny laughed weakly as they climbed the stairs.

Dan rolled his eyes and took the quicker route, easily flying up through the ceiling then out of the house to wait inside Dash's car. Leaning back against the seat, he smirked as he waited for the two men to arrive. For a while in the middle of the ritual, he thought for sure it wouldn't work, and maybe that tearing sensation was his essence being torn to shreds. But he had a solid form within this world now. He could feel the human side of him, a dull growling ache in his stomach that he assumed was what the vampire meant about needing to feast on human sustenance. He flexed an invisible hand before him, more than satisfied with the existence that Danny gave him in this world.

"You around here somewhere?" Danny asked as he hopped into the passenger's seat while Dash climbed into the driver's seat, already starting the car.

Smirking deviously, Dan leaned forward and gave a little tug on Danny's ear that made the man jump in surprise. Dash glowered as he pulled away from the curb and started driving back to Danny's house.

"I guess that answers that," Danny mumbled, rubbing at his ear. "What other kind of cool powers can you do?"

"Well, we'll probably have plenty of time to talk about that," Dan answered as he leaned back again, folding his arms behind his head. He grinned at the annoyed glare that he caught through the rearview mirror from Dash. "I can teach you everything that I know. But we might develop differently from here. As you probably noticed, I possess pyrokinesis while you have cryokinesis. Mastering that skill shouldn't be much different. It'll still require the same concept of concentration to learn to use it." He stared at Danny as he pressed his lips together in thought. "You may have better luck at it now too, if you've gained some of my strength. It'll be mostly about controlling it."

"I don't like that he'll be hanging around you," Dash said, trying to hold back his anger. "I don't trust this shade."

"It's Dan," he insisted firmly as he narrowed his eyes at the blond man. Dash didn't need to say anything to make it clear that he didn't want Danny anywhere near the shade that twice tried to erase his soul in order to take over his body. But there was more behind his hate toward the shade than simply that, and Dan understood exactly what the telepath was feeling. Danny was a special being beyond that alluring scent that probably drew many supernatural beings, explaining why the incubus sought the young man out in the first place. Danny suffered through more than most people would experience in their lifetimes, yet he came out of it all with a steady, kind soul. Danny believed in giving second chances even to someone like Dan, who would have kept trying to attack him if Danny hadn't made him see reason and struck that deal. Dan doubted that the incubus would be given the same kindness from Danny, and for good reason.

"Dash, I appreciate that you worry about me," Danny said with a sigh. "But it's going to be fine. Dan isn't all that bad. He can be entirely annoying at times and act like a jerk, but he cares enough to keep me safe. If there's anything the two of you share in common, it's that you both care about my well being. You can trust that he won't hurt me."

Dash scowled at Danny's comment. "I guess you have a point there." Because even Dash had to hear his determination to protect Danny when Dan spoke about tearing apart the incubus that hurt Danny so much. Dan knew Dash would likely do the same if the incubus ever showed its face near Danny again. As Danny said, it was the one point they shared: their determination to protect what they cared most for.


	36. Chapter 36

The night was all quiet with very few people wandering the streets. With the recent murders, it wasn't surprising to see people being cautious about being out late at night, and especially the women. He saw hardly any women around and those he did see were walking in groups. They were all older women, and Vlad doubted they were virgins, which meant they were likely safe from the incubus lurking around town, but he was glad to see they were wary enough not to go out alone at night. Vlad didn't want the incubus to have the opportunity to attack another person in his town.

"You're still concerned about Daniel and the shade situation, aren't you?" Lancer questioned, walking beside the vampire as they patrolled the streets for any signs of the incubus' whereabouts.

From Daniel's retelling of his rape, Lancer was given a fairly good description of what the incubus looked like. Vlad knew there were plenty of incubus in the world and the one that arrived in town wasn't necessarily the same one that raped Daniel, but the description still remained their best bet on identifying the incubus. Unless they somehow came upon the incubus in the act of feeding upon someone, which Vlad really hoped wouldn't be the case.

"Daniel may be too kind for his own good," Vlad said as his mouth pulled into a frown. "He looked for goodness in a being that was attacking him and wanted to save it. It's a noble idea, but also one that has potential to stab him in the back if he puts his trust and faith into the wrong being. But," he heaved a sigh, "Dan seems to show genuine concern for Daniel's well being. I'm not sure how much I like that fact, but if he stops any further harm from coming to Daniel, I'll be thankful for his guardianship."

"There's a bond between them." Lancer stroked a hand over his bearded chin. "I imagine being trapped within that dark place together after Daniel died forged a deep connection. I'm not sure that Dan could have actually killed Daniel with their essences bound to each other. Killing Daniel's soul may have complicated Dan's existence on this plane."

"I suppose Clockwork was right about this." Vlad glanced down the alleyway they passed it, looking for movement among the shadows. "The Ghost Writer's power wasn't necessary to solve Daniel's price. And that unusual form change will at least protect Daniel's identity if he has to use his powers where he may be seen. I do hope he will be wise enough to at least find a suitable hiding spot before switching his appearance. I understand he's had reason to be cautious in the past, lying to his parents about the things he's experienced, but this power is new to him. He lacks control at the moment, and that leaves him prone to mistakes. Those mistakes could be costly if someone witnessed what he can do. Especially someone of the human population."

"While his grades may not be the best," Lancer said as he paused, and Vlad stopped walking to turn back to him, "Daniel is a fairly bright young man. Everyone is bound to make mistake in their lives, but I hope you're not thinking him an idiot."

"I only worry that he's inherited some of his father's ability to blunder things." Vlad frowned with a flat stare. "Jack was always prone to clumsiness, which often led to accidents. I understand some of that was a result of his over eagerness to hunt the supernatural. I only worry that Daniel may put himself in danger if he's not careful."

"Vlad." Lancer sighed. "He has people to protect him here. Dan especially will want to keep him safe since their existences are linked. But there is another matter to be concerned about regarding Daniel."

Vlad frowned, brow drawing together as he stared at the witch in front of him. "What do you mean?" From the serious expression on Lancer's face, Vlad didn't think he was going to like the next words out of the man's mouth. He thought any worries about Daniel's safety was laid to rest after they dealt with the issue of the shade. So long as Daniel followed their order to stay in his home, he wouldn't be at risk of being ambushed by the incubus again. Vlad hoped that was true. But even if the incubus did seek out Daniel, Dan would be there to stand in the way and protect the young man.

"The day after the solstice when Daniel came to me with the proposal to help Dan," Lancer started, and Vlad's brow creased even more, "Skulker followed him to my house. He saw Daniel use his cryokinesis, and I'm afraid he may have taken interest in Daniel."

"What?" Vlad shouted at that announcement. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

Lancer frowned as he took a look around the street. Several of the people wandering past them turned their heads at Vlad's sudden exclamation. Lancer stepped closer to the vampire and spoke in a lower voice so that none of those people could overhear them. "Because Dan was the immediate threat at that moment. I thought we should deal with him before turning our attention onto Skulker. Then this whole thing with the incubus came up. We have time to come up with a plan to deal with Skulker. He can't do anything to Daniel _or_ Kwan while still under your watch and serving his sentence. We can figure something out before graduation."

Vlad frowned, breathing in deeply to calm his anger. "I see why Clockwork warned that Skulker had the potential of leaving this planet with more than one of my students." His jaw clenched tightly, and he wished he had the excuse to attack Skulker at that moment. The alien would not be taking _any_ of his students if he could do anything about it. But until Skulker made his move, Vlad's hands were tied. The council would not sit idly by if he stepped out of line and broke intergalatic law. Without proper cause, harming Skulker could start a war with the planet of Cyonetic, who as Vlad gathered weren't satisfied with the punishment handed down on one of their own.

"I had that thought as well after that encounter," Lancer said, frowning deeply at this development. "But I think Clockwork was expecting us to figure out a way to help the shade. With Dan's guardianship, Daniel should be well protected against Skulker. And it's possible that Dan could serve as another protector for Kwan. They have a nice group of friends that will surely fight to the end if necessary to keep Daniel and Kwan safe."

"It shouldn't be their duty to deal with this sort of problem," Vlad argued in a grumble, his shoulders tensing with anger. "Their safety is my responsibility. I should be the one protecting them from any harm that threatens them. They shouldn't be the ones having to fight against a selfish, egotistical alien."

"I agree it's not something they should have to face. But the fact that they're being surrounded by people that care so much for them is a great help to both Daniel and Kwan." Lancer frowned as his green eyes swept around the street. "And for now, we should turn our attention to tracking down that incubus to ensure no other women are murdered." Annoyance scrunched up his face. "If I had been able to get something off those women that belonged to the incubus, I might have better luck tracking it. It left the bodies in too wide an area for us to search. It could even attack outside the area and dump the bodies here simply to make it tougher to locate it."

Vlad could understand the witch's frustration. Lancer could cast a locator spell with great ease and track the incubus down within a matter of moments. But a locator spell required something of the person to work when the identity was a mystery. If he needed to locate someone that he knew, Lancer could cast the spell without need of an item related to that person.

"Vladdie!"

"I'd know that voice anywhere," Vlad growled, his whole body tensing up when he heard that shout of his name. Lancer hardly hid the amused twitch of his mouth, and Vlad snarled at him. When he turned around, he immediately regretted the action as he was drawn into a crushing hug by the man's thick log sized arms. If he were still human, the squeeze of the arms around him might have cut off his supply of air and caused him to suffocate. Vampires, luckily, didn't _have_ to breathe. But the allusion of breathing kept people believing that he was still alive.

"See, Maddie! I told you that had to be Vladdie that shouted!"

"Jack, dear, perhaps you should let him go before you break him," Maddie suggested kindly, and her large husband sheepishly released his hold on the vampire.

Vlad held back a sneer as he straightened his suit. Jack couldn't see that his own son was no longer a mere human nor could he tell that the man he just held in a vice grip was a vampire. It was no wonder they could never get their hands on anything supernatural. Vlad probably would have remained as ignorant of the world around him if he had left Europe all those years ago to travel back to America with the pair. Thinking about what could have been was a pointless past time. What happened couldn't be changed, and he was satisfied with the life he had now. Before, seeing the pair together would have incited a jealous rage inside Vlad to see Jack with the woman he once loved, stealing her from right under his nose. But after being turned, he had more to worry about than a betrayal of a friend. He didn't think after the people he drained and killed that Maddie could ever love a monster like him, even if he had no choice in his actions.

"You two are looking well," Vlad said with a strained smile as he smoothed down his silver hair.

Maddie looked lovely as ever, her brown hair short and straight now, so different from the long, frizzy hair that Vlad remembered her having last they saw each other. Childbirth hadn't hurt her figure even slightly. Jack, on the other hand, was still as big as ever, never losing that broad torso of his football days, though he packed on more weight than muscle over the years. He lost the mullet they both sported in their youth, and his dark hair was white on the bottom. They still looked happy and healthy, and completely in love with each other.

"I can't believe we're running into you here like this," Maddie said with a bright smile on her face. "How long have you been living here?"

Vlad glanced toward Lancer, who only wore an amused look as he waited silently for the vampire to speak with his old friends. This was not a conversation he looked forward to after learning of the arrival of the Fenton family in Amity Park. "Only a few years," he told Maddie with a courteous smile.

"I was just thinking about you the other day, Vladdie." Jack smacked a hand onto Vlad's shoulder, nearly knocking the vampire over with his strength. "But after leaving Europe, we didn't have any way to contact you." He frowned, like the years apart truly hurt him, and maybe it did. They were best friends in college, spending many a night up late discussing theories and researching into the supernatural. They were fond memories for Vlad, though he didn't bother to think on them very often.

"Yes, well, I understand that you started a family after returning from Europe," Vlad said with perhaps only a touch of bitterness. He would never have children of his own, and not simply for the fact that he was involved with another man. Vampires were incapable of reproducing. They could sire a childe, but they couldn't conceive children through the same means as normal humans.

"Two wonderful children," Jack boasted happily with a proud smile. His dark blue eyes shone as an idea struck him. "You should come visit! You can meet them! I bet they'd love to hear about the old days and all the crazy adventures the three of us used to have together."

"Perhaps I should leave you to get reacquainted," Lancer said, trying but failing to hide his amusement with a pleasant smile at the couple.

"Oh, how rude of us!" Maddie looked truly regretful. "We've interrupted something, haven't we?"

"Interrupted something?" Jack frowned at his wife in confusion. Then he glanced between Lancer and Vlad. "Vlad, you-" His eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets, and he leaned in close to Vlad to whisper. "But I always thought you had a thing for Maddie. I always felt kind of bad about it." He frowned with an unusual miserable look in his eyes.

"At one time, I did," Vlad agreed. "But I can hardly fault you for being the one she chose." But again, at one time, he would have. It was amazing the way time could change a person. "And as you can see, I haven't been completely alone in my life." He took hold of Lancer's hand, like making a point for a dull mind that couldn't pick up on the subtle hints. "This is Lionel Lancer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Lancer bowed his head to the pair.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Lancer." Maddie turned a smile onto Vlad. "And we're so happy for you, Vlad!"

"Lancer," Jack mumbled, tapping at his chin with a fat finger. Then he snapped his fingers before pointing at the balding man. "You're Danny's teacher!"

"Why yes, I am. He's a pleasure to have in class. A bright boy as long as he applies himself." Lancer clearly had an attachment to the young man, and Vlad rolled his eyes at the teacher. Not many students gained the witch's affection, but Lancer seemed to take Daniel under his wing. Perhaps Daniel confiding in him about his greatest secret was the reason behind their bonding. In a short time, Daniel found enough trust in his teacher to openly speaking with him about the rape, something he certainly hadn't told his parents anything about.

"We know his grades aren't the best," Maddie said with a frown. "But with all the moving around, he's had a hard time keeping up with classes."

"I'm sure as long as he can focus on his class work and not get too distracted, he'll have no trouble graduating," Lancer assured her, putting it gently.

Vlad had seen Daniel's grades and knew the young man needed a lot of work to get up his grades. That would be much easier for Daniel to achieve without threats to himself and his friends hanging over his head like a dark cloud. Hopefully, once the incubus was dealt with and they found some way to eliminate Skulker as a threat, then Daniel would be free to devote his time to studying.

"He's fit in quite nicely at Casper High, wouldn't you say, Vlad?" Lancer smirked at the vampire, who shot a glower toward him. Both Jack and Maddie stared curiously at Vlad after that question was put to him.

"Yes," Vlad agreed, narrowing his eyes at Lancer before turning a pleasant smile back to his old college friends. "Daniel has quickly found a nice group of friends at our school." When his friends blinked at him, Vlad sighed, realizing this chance encounter was going to lead to more meetings with Jack and Maddie. "I'm the principal at Casper High."

"Danny never told us that!" Jack looked hurt that he was only learning now that his son's principal was his college buddy.

"Well, I'm sure the boy had no reason to think that we might know each other." Vlad patted the larger man, though of course, Daniel was aware that Vlad knew his parents. After learning that Vlad was a vampire, Daniel obviously saw the reason why Vlad wasn't thrilled with the idea of reuniting with his old friends.

"Oh," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I guess that means you've already met our son. Hopefully not for anything bad."

Vlad shook his head. "No, he's done nothing to warrant a visit to the principal's office as yet," he assured Jack with a kind smile. His jaw clenched as a sharp pain stabbed at his brain. "However, I wouldn't say no to a visit to your home. Perhaps share a nice hot cup of coffee." He sent a look at Lancer, who picked up the meaning right away. It was the look that usually meant one of their students was in trouble. "Right now would be good."

Jack and Maddie both blinked at urgency that tinged their friend's voice. "Well, of course, Vladdie," Jack agreed, turning to lead the way to their home.


	37. Chapter 37

"You're such a good boy," Abner cooed as he scratched his hands down Cujo's back. The Saint Bernard panted happily, his nose turned up in the air as he tongue lolled out of his mouth, enjoying the back scratch. Abner grinned, knowing how much the puppy liked that. "You're getting pretty big now."

"Pretty soon, he'll be taller than you when he gets up on his hind legs."

Abner pouted up at his mother as she laughed in amusement. "Too bad Dad hates pets," he mumbled and wrapped his arms around Cujo's neck. He would love to take the Saint Bernard home as his own dog, but his father was firmly against any animal being allowed in his house. It was sad though. No one that came in would adopt Cujo, and Abner still couldn't understand why since the dog was a big sweetheart.

"It's time for him to go back in his cage." His mother pointed toward the empty cage with the door still wide open. "It's time to close up and go home."

Abner sighed but did as told and nudged Cujo toward his cage. The dog whined, not wanting to return to it, but he reluctantly crawled into his lonely cage, flopping down near the back and resting his head on his paws with a miserable look in his eyes. When he glanced at his mother, Abner frowned at the shake of her head. There would be no convincing his father to allow them to adopt Cujo. With a sigh, he closed the cage door.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Abner told Cujo. "You be a good boy until then." He frowned sadly when Cujo turned his head away from him. Standing up, he followed his mother out of the clinic.

"Oh, Abs, I know you love that puppy," his mother said as she placed a hand on his head. "But we simply can't adopt him." After they were outside, she locked the front door.

Abner pouted, puffing out his cheeks and not caring how childish and immature it made him look. It was simply another reason he wasn't happy with his father. Working at the animal clinic was his only time to really take care of any kind of pet. Sometimes while he worked, he liked to pretend that all the animals there were his pets, but then night closed in and he had to leave them all behind. It was depressing!

"I got a call from your aunt the other day," his mother said as she led the way to her car.

That statement wiped away all thoughts about animals as Abner snapped his head up toward his mother. "Which one?" he asked warily as he eyed with some trepidation. He had a handful of aunts, some being quite distantly related to him, but they referred to them simply as aunts because it was easier and didn't give him a headache trying to remember the exact wording for how exactly they were related to him.

"Your aunt Astrid," his mother answered as she opened the door of the car.

"Aunt Astrid?" Abner shouted, gaping at his mother over the roof of the yellow Volkswagen Beetle. "What did she want?"

His mother blinked at him, confused by his reaction to that news. "She wanted to tell me that her son was in town. Apparently he came here to visit for Christmas, though I guess he didn't want to spend it with us since he never contacted us. Oh really, Abs!" She placed her hands on hips as she frowned at him. "What are you looking all scared about? Your cousin is a very nice young man."

"No, no, no!" Abner raked his hands through his hair, grabbing at his dusty blond locks as panic washed through him. "He can't be here!"

"Abner Rene Faust!" His mother stomped her foot on the ground with a severe look on her face. "What has gotten into you? When has he ever done anything bad to you?"

"Mom, go home," Abner ordered as he turned down the street.

"Abner, get back here!" his mother shouted after him, but Abner merely started running away. "Where are you going?"

Not stopping to listen to his mother's shouts, Abner turned the corner at the end of the block and kept running. He needed to talk to someone about this, but he couldn't tell his mother. She didn't even know anything about the power he possessed, and she would probably freak out or not believe him if he told her about his cousin. His stomach churned with sickness as he ran, the memory of what he saw only days earlier resurfacing unpleasantly in his mind. At least, that sick feeling wasn't accompanied by the itchy sensation that resulted in the buildup of too much energy that needed to be released. Abner wasn't sure what might happen if he didn't expel the energy, but his imagination provided him with some gruesome ideas.

Digging into his pocket, Abner pulled out his phone. It would be rude to simply show up unannounced, and he didn't know if the other man would even be home at the moment. He hit the number in his phone book, blushing at the fact that it was there. The phone rang as he held it up to his ear.

"Yeah?" the man said when he answered the call.

"Johnny!" Abner might have grinned like an idiot at hearing the man's voice, but the panic grabbing at his heart killed any joy he might have had at that moment. "Are you at home right now? I need to talk to you. In person. It's important."

"You okay? You sound kind of panicky?" There was a frown in Johnny's voice.

"Yes. No! I don't know." Abner pressed a hand to his head. "Just - Can I come over?"

"Uh, well, I'm not exactly at home right now." Something like a door opening was heard in the background.

"What?" Abner skidded to a halt. "Where are you?"

"Who's that?" A woman's voice came through the phone, and Abner blinked, recognizing it.

"Was that Kitty?" Abner asked, half hoping he was wrong.

"Uh, yeah," Johnny answered awkwardly. "Kitty hang on." Footsteps could be heard, perhaps Johnny walking away from the woman. "After finding that body, Kitty and Ember kind of got freaked out, and they felt better about having a guy around since Ember had a gig tonight and she lives in the opposite direction as the rest of her band, and she doesn't have a car, so she and Kitty would be walking back to her place, alone, at night, and it just didn't seem like a good idea for them to be wandering around by themselves with this rapist murderer in town." He sucked in a breath after the long, rambling sentence.

A flash of light made Abner duck into an alley to avoid being seen by the driver passing by him. His mother would probably be trying to find him after he ran off. "Can I still meet you somewhere?" he asked hopefully.

"This is something that can wait, huh?" Johnny sighed. "Where are you right now?"

"Uh, well, my mom and I were just leaving the clinic, so I'm still around there. Maybe we could meet up in the park?" Abner bit the inside of his cheek as he waited anxiously for Johnny's response.

"I don't think it would be wise for you to be walking around there when it's dark out like this. Just wait there with your mom until we get to the clinic. Okay?"

"Uh," Abner said awkwardly, worrying his lower lip. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you then!" Hanging up his phone, he cringed. By now, his mother would be long gone, searching the streets for him, which meant he would be left alone to wait at the animal clinic until Johnny showed up. He smacked a hand over his face, wondering what he was thinking when he ran away from his mother. The obvious answer was that he wasn't thinking at all. He heard mention of his distant cousin being in town and panicked. His stomach still felt queasy as he recalled what he saw years ago.

Taking a deep breath, Abner left the alleyway and headed back toward the animal clinic. Now that he was alone, he realized just how stupid running away was. He probably made the others worry about him as well, though they thought his mother was still with him. When he reached the animal clinic, Abner leaned against the wall and slid down into a crouch. It was quiet, and few people wandered around this section of town this late at night. He chewed nervously at his lip, hugging his arms around him as he waited. Every once in a while, he pulled out his phone to check the time.

When an hour passed, Abner worried that Johnny wasn't going to come, maybe even forgot that he was going to meet up with him. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, debating getting up and going home. His mother was probably having a heart attack with worry after he ran off and disappeared. But he couldn't talk to her about this, and the need to tell someone was eating him up inside.

A shadow loomed over him. His body tensing up, Abner turned his head and released a startled scream when he glanced up at the person standing over him. He toppled over onto his side, his heart racing. When laughter reached his ears, Abner flushed darkly, stiffly climbing to his feet. His legs ached from crouching for a long time.

"Where's your mom?" Johnny asked as he frowned at the shorter man.

"Well, uh, she went home," Abner answered awkwardly, refusing to meet Johnny's green gaze.

"You've been sitting here all alone since you called?" Ember gawked at him.

"What were you thinking?" Johnny shouted as he grabbed hold of Abner by the shoulders. "What if that rapist murderer found you? Just because it's only been girls so far doesn't mean that that he won't attack a boy if he had the opportunity."

"I know. I wasn't-" Abner blinked several times when he found arms wrapped tightly around him. His brain couldn't seem to process the fact that Johnny was currently holding him. Over Johnny's shoulder, he could see Ember and Kitty sharing smirking looks with each other.

"God, Abner! How do you think all of us would have felt if something happened to you?" Johnny released the other man from the tight embrace and held him back a pace with his hands still gripping Abner's shoulders. "Whatever it is, it could have waited. You should have just gone home with your mom."

"No!" Abner snapped firmly, staring with stern hazel eyes at Johnny. "I know who the killer is."

"What?" gasped the other three in shock at his declaration.

"Abner, how could you possibly know who the killer is?" Kitty asked with worry on her face.

His eyes flicked to each one of their faces, and Abner frowned miserably as he lowered his gaze. Taking a deep breath, Abner launched into his tale. "So six years ago, my family decided to have this whole huge family reunion thing. We have some relatives in Montana that own this huge farm so it seemed like it was a great place to hold the big gathering. Anyway, before dinner one night while we were there, Aunt Astrid wanted me to go call her son in because he was working in the barn." He glanced up worriedly at the other three, who only gave him confused, curious looks. None of them understood where this whole story was going. "We're very distant cousins," he said firmly. "My family is like over here." He held up his right hand, making a little circle motion with his finger. "And his family is way over here." He reached his left hand as far left as it could go, copying the circle motion. "I can't even begin to guess our true relation to each other, so we just call each other cousins. Anyway, so I went to the barn, and-" He swallowed thickly, remembering what he found when he entered the barn.

A hand closed around his own, and Abner glanced up to see Johnny watching him closely. Behind him, Kitty and Ember both waited patiently for the man to get up the courage to finish his tale. Abner closed his eyes, wishing he never saw what he did. After a moment, he was able to continue.

"Living here in Amity Park, it's not all that unusual for normal humans to become aware of the supernatural," Abner said, delaying the inevitable truth that he would have to share with them.

"I can certainly attest to that," Kitty agreed with a quick quirk of her mouth as she glanced at Ember.

"Right. So it's not that surprising that I had some idea of what kinds of creatures exist out in the world. There's a large number of supernatural beings in our school." Abner rubbed at the back of his neck as he frowned. "But my cousin-" He shook his head. "I had never encountered something like him before, so when I entered the barn and saw him in his true form, I was too stunned to scream or move or basically anything. I just stood there like a statue watching what was happening. I can't tell you how many nights I woke up seeing that woman's face in my mind with her head thrown back, eyes rolled back in their sockets, and mouth gaping up like she was trying to scream as my cousin," he gulped thickly, "pounded into her."

"So you saw your cousin having sex?" Ember raised an eyebrow at him. "I get that at twelve that was probably something you weren't expecting to see. But it hardly seems like major news to tell us."

Abner pursed his lips as he narrowed his eyes at her. "He was an incubus. He wasn't just have sex with this random woman. He was _killing_ her. The incubus feeds on his victim's life energy during the action of having sex. And he wasn't exactly gentle about it either. When he finished and just left her body lying on the ground, there was," Abner gestured down at the lower region of his body, "blood splattered all over her legs. Just like that body we found." He frowned at Johnny.

"So an incubus is in town," Kitty said, looking grim at this news. "Should we contact Principal Masters?"

"Not just an incubus," Abner argued regrettably. "My cousin. My mom told me earlier that Aunt Astrid called her to say that he was in town. It's not that shocking that he didn't tell us anything. We don't visit my uncle for Christmas since my dad _hates_ my uncle. But he especially wouldn't want to tell me about it. After he killed that woman in the barn, he threatened me. He said if I ever told anyone about him, he'd-" Abner shrank away, hugging an arm around his body. "He'd kill me the same way he killed that woman. Distant blood relation or not, he didn't care."

"We're not going to let him hurt you," Johnny assured him firmly, squeezing Abner's hand which he still held. "And if this is your cousin that killed those women, then we need to tell Principal Masters right away. You can tell him what your cousin looks like in his human guise, and he'll be better able to track down your cousin."

Abner nodded jerkily to that suggestion. Kitty and Ember walked around to rub his back supportively as Johnny pulled out his phone to contact their principal. He felt somewhat better after telling them what happened six years ago, but the memory still left him feeling shaky.


	38. Chapter 38

Her parents couldn't be normal for even one night! Jazz wanted to tear out her hair in frustration because this was exactly why she didn't want to come back home. Except that she always felt bad about leaving Danny alone with their parents, especially after Danny came out as gay and their mother didn't react too well to that. She was relieved to know that their mother finally came to her senses about the whole thing and accepted Danny for the real him. She could see right away the happier atmosphere around Danny and their mother when they all sat down to eat dinner together. There wasn't distance between them, or that frustration that she always heard in Danny's voice whenever he talked about their mother and how she was trying to set him up with yet another woman despite that he was obviously gay.

Everything was going fine at the start of the dinner. Everyone was chatting and eating, and it almost felt like a normal family dinner. Jazz could almost pretend that her life was always like this and her parents were never the cause of a lifetime's worth of therapy from all the embarrassment. They could be normal, and maybe Frederich wouldn't have to see the crazy side of her family. But of course, her wish would never be answered. It started with an offhand comment about the solstice that led into the rest of the night being filled with the tall tales of their parents' exploits in their search for the supernatural.

Jazz wanted to bury her head in her arms, and she could tell Danny felt the same when he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling with that look that said, "I can't believe they're starting this again." It was the same everywhere they went. Any time they brought someone over for dinner, their parents launched into the topic of the supernatural. It was horribly embarrassing! The next day usually involved the person that joined them for dinner avoiding them like the plague, and the rumors about their parents being crazy would spread like wildfire.

Jazz knew she spent most of their adolescence being an overbearing, smothering older sister to Danny, but they only had each other with the stigma brought on by their parents and all the moving around they did as their parents tried to hunt the supernatural all over America. She was only trying to take care of her little brother, but she knew he hated it sometimes. A lot of the times, if she was being honest. And being away at college, she almost believed that helped their relationship. Danny always seemed happy to hear from her, and she tried not message him every single day and pester him about things like his homework and making friends. She couldn't help but worry about her little brother.

A small smile spread onto her face as she recalled the blond man that Danny disappeared with for a few hours earlier that day. If Danny was settling in here enough to actually find a boyfriend, maybe Jazz's worrying was unnecessary after all. She only met him briefly, but Dash seemed like a pretty good guy. She was surprised when Danny said he wasn't a jock because Dash definitely had the body of a man that played football, which seemed to be the type that Danny liked best from what she gathered after learning that he was gay.

Jazz looked up from loading the dishwasher as Danny trotted into the kitchen. "Did you get all of your homework finished?" She gave him the usual "sister glare" that meant she planned to pester him about it until he completed his assignments.

"There's still days left before school starts up again," Danny complained, grabbing a tub of ice cream out of the freezer. "I have plenty of time to get it done. " He pouted. "Especially with being grounded and all. I have nothing to do all day but homework."

"Getting your grades up is important, Danny." Jazz wiped her hands clean on a towel. "You'll never get into a good college if you have bad grades. And you'll have to repeat a grade if you fail." She placed her hands on her hips as she stared at him. "And what's with the ice cream? It's cold enough to snow outside, and you're getting ice cream?"

"I _know_ , Jazz." Danny sighed dramatically, this not being the first time they've talked about his grades. "And I'll admit some of my classes aren't that bad. But can we at least spend some time together without it being all homework talk? I know how much you love school. But can't we just be kids for a while without you going into mother mode?" He gave a hopeful look before he dropped his gaze to the tub of ice cream in his hands. "Um... Dessert?" He gave a weak grin.

Jazz raised an eyebrow at him, but after a moment, she had to roll her eyes at his grin. "All right." She grabbed some spoons from the drawer. "But only because Mom and Dad aren't here." She pushed Danny into the front room where Frederich sat on the sofa with a book in his hand. "You get half an hour of television. Then straight back up to your room to do homework."

"Yes, _Mom_." Danny rolled his eyes at Jazz, who whacked him on the shoulder with the spoons.

"You two get along well," Frederich commented as he closed his book when the siblings dropped onto the sofa. Jazz sat in the middle of the two men, holding up the spoons for each of them to take one of the three in her hand.

"Don't you get along with your siblings, Freddie?" Danny ripped the top of the tub of ice cream before he grabbed a spoon from his sister's hand.

"It's Frederich," he said stiffly as he took a spoon as well. "And I don't have any siblings. I was an only child."

"Pity for you," Danny mumbled and dug out a large spoonful of ice cream. When Jazz rammed an elbow into his side, Danny nearly dropped the giant glob of ice cream. He gulped at her glare. "I just meant that it's a shame because having a sibling is _wonderful_."

"Frederich and I are studying psychology together," Jazz told Danny as she scooped out a spoonful for herself before passing the tub of ice cream to her boyfriend. "How did you meet Dash?" Grinning widely, she stared at her brother in wait for his answer.

Danny nearly choked on the ice cream in his mouth, and Jazz blinked when she noticed all the ice cream on his spoon was gone. She couldn't imagine how he ate that much ice cream so fast, and not suffer a severe ice cream headache. After coughing for a moment, Danny was able to answer. "We share math class together, and-" He shrugged. "Well, you've seen him! He's pretty much my ideal guy in terms of looks. Uh, but," he flushed darkly, scratching at a cheek with one finger, "it's not like his looks are the only thing I'm interested in."

"But the looks sure help." Jazz grinned with her spoon of ice cream in her mouth as her brother's blush darkened even further. "How far are you into your relationship? Hand holding? Kissing?"

"We haven't done any of that! We're still kind of just at the friend stage. We're just taking things slow." Danny blinked and tilted his head back like he was looking at something over him. After a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes, he turned his attention back to his sister, ignoring her raise of a questioning eyebrow. "So what about you and Frederich? How did all this happen?" He gestured at the pair sitting on the sofa with him. "How did he ever convince you to come home for winter break?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't easy," Frederich said, barely touching any of the ice cream. "Jazz was very adamant about not letting me meet any of you. But," he smiled at her, "I reminded her that it didn't matter how crazy her family seemed, I would like her no matter what."

"Isn't he just so sweet?" Jazz smiled back at Frederich as a light blush colored her cheeks. "We bumped into each other in a book store. We were both reaching for the same book on understanding the psychological effects of verbal abuse. And well," she shrugged, "we went out for coffee and started talking, and we just really hit it off."

"Well, I'm happy for you." Danny smiled, but Jazz could see it wasn't entirely real.

Jazz frowned internally, wondering why her brother was forcing himself to be supportive of her relationship with Frederich. Perhaps it was a brother thing. As much as she looked out for Danny, he did the same for her, though she realized in a much subtler way. She had men interested in her in the past, but those times, Danny would butt his way between them, acting like the other man was an enemy of some sort. Perhaps he still felt like that but matured enough to stand back and allow for his sister's happiness. That thought made her smile. Danny was concerned about her getting hurt but didn't want breakup the good relationship she had with Frederich.

Jazz reached over and hugged her brother, ignoring Danny's protest at her actions. "Danny," she said slowly as a frown pulled down at her mouth. Moving back, she placed a hand to his cheek, baffled by how cold it felt against her flesh. The weather was quite chilly outside, but the heat was on in the house and he had no reason to feel that cold. "Why do you feel like ice?"

"Ice cream?" Danny offered weakly as he grabbed for the tub sitting on the coffee table.

"Danny, what's going?" Jazz demanded firmly, refusing to let him dodge the question.

When she reached for his hands, Danny shot off the sofa. "It's nothing!" he shouted, panic flashing through his bright blue eyes. Then he jogged out of the front room, racing up the steps to his bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Frederich," Jazz said as she stood. "I have to-"

"I understand. Your brother needs you." He nodded as he picked up his book to read. "Go talk to him."

Jazz felt some relief at that response. But she didn't dwell on that fact, instead running up the stairs to follow after her brother. When she reached his room, she knocked on the door. "Danny, can we talk?"

"I told you it's nothing, Jazz. I should really get this homework done."

With a sigh, Jazz opened the door and slipped into his room. "Danny, you know I'm not going to judge you. Whatever happened, you can tell me."

Danny frowned as he turned in his desk chair to stare at her. "Really, it's no big deal. You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine."

Jazz took a seat on his bed. She didn't need him to say anything out loud to see he experienced something terrible while she was away at college. It was there in his eyes, the fear of a memory that shook him to his core. She lowered her gaze, regretting that she wasn't there for him when he clearly needed her the most. She was a horrible sister for not realizing sooner that something was hurting him.

"It is a big deal, Danny," Jazz said softly as she raised her aqua eyes to stare at him. "Maybe you don't feel like you can tell me what happened right now. But I hope you can tell me one day. It hurts me that you're dealing with something and there's absolutely nothing I can do to help you. I love you, Danny. No matter what, I'll always love you."

Danny's gaze drifted to his left for a brief moment. "I know, Jazz," he said as he lowered his eyes. "I'm just not ready to talk about it."

Jazz stood up and wrapped her arms around Danny. The coolness against her cheek was still strange, but Danny was as stubborn as any Fenton. He wouldn't be giving her any answers until he was ready to talk about it. "I'm always here when you are ready." She kissed him on the side of his forehead before she released him.

"Jazz," Danny called, stopping her before she could open the door of his room. "Don't tell Mom and Dad?"

"Of course." Jazz winked before she left him alone in his room. There were plenty of secrets they shared with each other that they preferred not to tell their parents. In this instance, Jazz could certainly understand why Danny wouldn't want their parents finding about his icy cold skin. They would probably think it had something to do with the supernatural, like Danny was possessed by a ghost or something else that sounded as ridiculous. She rolled her eyes at the very idea.

"That was quick." Frederich looked up from his book when Jazz dropped next time him on the sofa.

"If I know anything about my brother, it's that pushing too much only makes him less likely to ever tell me anything," Jazz said as she leaned forward to scoop out a spoonful of the ice cream. "He'll tell me about what happened when he's ready. Until then, I just have to be patient." She popped the spoon into her mouth, happily eating the ice cream.


	39. Chapter 39

Danny sighed after Jazz closed the door when she left. "That was a close one," he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. He relaxed for a moment while they were downstairs. His guard was down, and he didn't anticipate the sudden hug or that his sister's cheek would press against his cheek as she held him.

"Smooth one." Dan flicked him on the ear as he became visible again now that they were alone. He smirked as Danny rubbed at the pained ear, shooting a glare at the shade and his eyes nearly shifting to glowing green.

Danny was thankful that his sister wasn't the type to just barge into his room without permission or he would have had a lot more explaining to do when she spotted some weird man with flaming hair and red eyes in her brother's bedroom. "You know," he said as he leaned on an arm against his desk, "now that you're all," he waved his free hand up and down Dan's body, "stable and visible and all that, you could go off and have your own life. Instead of sticking around here and annoying me." He stared flatly at Dan floating in front of him with that obnoxiously smug look on his face.

Dan touched down on the floor as he leaned in real close to Danny. "I promised to keep you safe. I can't do that if I'm not around you to keep watch. And you seem to have this terrible habit of running head first into dangerous situations."

Danny frowned at him. "Not all the time," he grumbled as he looked away. "Sometimes danger comes looking for me." He turned back in his seat to focus on his homework. "But we should work out some sort of system so you can still have your own life while keeping to your promise. I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to always be around me."

"It's not so bad." Dan shrugged as he leaned against the desk. "There's a lot worse people I could have gotten stuck in this situation with. But," he turned his red eyes on Danny, "you're probably the only one that would actually think to try that ritual thing and give me a real body in this world."

Danny lifted his head, the eraser end of his pencil pushing into his chin. "What do you look like as a human?" he wondered out loud. He never thought about it after the ritual was done and they arrived back at his house. If Danny could turn into a form similar to Dan's natural shade form, then Dan should be able to turn into a human appearance. That at least was how Danny reasoned things. They did say the exchange during the ritual gave Dan some of Danny's human essence and that Dan would likely need to eat like a human sometimes. It made sense that Dan would have a human form as well, even if he didn't care to appear in that form often.

"Hm, I guess we could find out." Dan's brow creased in concentration as he focused on changing into a human.

Danny's mouth hung open as the flaming white hair turned raven, spilling down to drape over broad shoulders. Red eyes shifted to dark blue that reminded Danny of Dash and Masters. His ears rounded, and Danny would wager a guess that his fangs lost some of their sharpness. The costume that matched similarly to the one Danny saw himself wear in the mirror after the ritual was completely changed to simple tight fitted jeans and a black shirt that hugged over Dan's torso, hardly hiding the well defined muscles of his chest.

"Well?" Dan asked curiously as he turned his gaze back on Danny.

"Uh." Danny blinked, snapping his mouth shut when he realized it was hanging open. "You could pass," he answered quickly as he ripped his gaze off Dan's broad chest. The shade looked like he could play football with a body like that.

It was nearly impossible to even attempt to focus on his homework when Dan had his grinning face inches from the side of his head. The annoyance of that simple act mounted to the point where Danny was about to open his mouth and yell at Dan when a knock sounded at the door. Danny knew it couldn't be his sister. As overbearing as she could be sometimes, Jazz learned over the years when to step back and allow Danny the time to approached her about things when he was ready.

"Don't do or say anything," Danny whispered to Dan, who had the habit of doing something annoying to get a reaction out of him at the most inopportune times.

"I know." Dan rolled his eyes before walking over to collapse onto Danny's bed. Folding his arms behind his head, he faded from sight.

"Jazz, I already said I wasn't ready to talk," Danny said, trying to sound as annoyed as possible despite knowing it wouldn't be his sister on the other side of the door. He turned his head toward the door as it opened.

"Ah, sorry." Frederich stepped into the bedroom. "Your sister mentioned that you have some trouble with math, and I thought I might offer my assistance."

"Oh, uh," Danny mumbled glancing at the scribble of numbers on his notebook page. "Well, I usually do my math homework with Dash." They only studied together a few times, though usually they didn't get a whole lot done when it came to math. He was struggling to get anything done with his current assignment when he decided to give up for the moment and grab the ice cream out of the freezer, Dan was insistent about trying it, but Danny didn't anticipate getting sidetracked by his sister.

Frederich walked over to the desk, taking a glance at Danny's work, which looked like a total mess. "Are you sure you wouldn't like my help?"

"It's nice of you to offer." Danny flipped his notebook shut quickly before twisting his chair around to face the long nosed man. "But I can get my homework done on my own." He folded his arms as he leaned back in his chair, and his eyes narrowed at the man. Despite his attempts to be supportive of their relationship, Danny couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that this man wasn't right for his sister. It was weird because watching them at dinner, Jazz and Frederich seemed well matched. The fact that he didn't call them all crazy after their parents launched into the topic of the supernatural should be a plus. Instead it only made Danny more suspicious of the man, even though he had no reason to be.

"Of course," Frederich agreed with a nod. "But you know your sister. She thought we should bond. It's very important to her that we get along and like each other."

"Well," Danny flicked his gaze toward the bed, hoping Dan was being good and staying there, "then there's nothing to worry about. I'm very happy for the two of you, so you don't have to bother with this whole bonding thing." He started to stand, preparing to show Frederich back out the door, when the man laid his hands on Danny's shoulders and held him down in the seat with surprising strength. His body tensed, every muscle growing taut, as he stared up into those reddish brown eyes.

"Do you know how frustrating it was sitting at that wretched dinner with you right there in front of me?" Frederich demanded in hushed voice with his head bent in close to Danny, who gulped fearfully. A cutting smirk appeared over his too pale face, his eyes glowing with dark intentions. "How surprising it was when I walked into that bookstore and smelled a scent far too similar to yours. I thought briefly that it couldn't be possible. I left you in that park with your intestines spilling out your side."

Danny's eyes grew wide at those words, fear keeping him frozen to the chair. Only three other people knew the full details of his death, of where he was raped and killed. He told Dash only that it happened but didn't delve into all the nitty gritty details. The only one other than Sam, Tucker, and Lancer that would know where he was left and the wound to his side was the incubus that raped and killed him. He couldn't breathe, his lungs burning for air, but at the moment his brain couldn't process how to breathe, or anything else.

Frederich chuckled lowly at the reaction his words produced in Danny. "That day we met in the bookstore, I planned to lure her away and feed on her the same I did to you. But imagine my shock when she starts talking about her dear little brother, even shows pictures of the two of you together." His eyes darkened as his hands gripped Danny's shoulders even tighter, using enough strength to leave bruises on the man's pale flesh. "Why wasn't she still in mourning over your loss? I couldn't understand why she was talking all bubbly and happy about you when you should be dead. And then she mentions how she talked to you recently, just a day or two before I met her. I couldn't believe you survived."

Danny licked his lips, unable to break away from staring into Frederich's eyes. "Guess I'm tougher than you thought," he said in a weak voice that cracked as he spoke. He couldn't understand how this was happening, how his sister was dating the incubus that raped him. Then the idea that the incubus could have done the same to his sister hit him with a force that took his breath away. He never wanted his sister to experience what he went through.

Frederich laughed at the comment. "Trying to act brave won't help you." He leaned in closer, breathing in Danny's scent. "Your fear only makes it better." He shoved Danny back, the chair ramming into the desk and making Danny wince. "I regretted that I didn't get to finish you off properly. But waiting these last six and a half months dating your boring, know-it-all sister was worth it. Now I can taste you again." He smirked, releasing his hold on one of Danny's shoulder to slide his hand up the pale neck, stroke over the jaw line, and finally run his thumb over Danny's lower lip. "And once I finish with you, I'll have your sister for dessert."

"You're hurting me," Danny said, clenching his teeth as he glared at the man in front of him. His expression didn't change as Frederich stood up straight, laughing in amusement at the anger in Danny's voice. He didn't understand the implications of that simple statement. For one, the moment Frederich inflicted so much as a bruise on him, Masters would be alerted to his student being harmed. The same thing happened on the night of the solstice when his father left a bruise on his arm and smashed his nose with some sort of weapon. For two, Dan who of course was listening carefully to every word being said between them was just given the green light to attack.

"That's sort of the point," Frederich said as he grinned toothily at his prey.

A ball of green energy slammed into his side, sending Frederich crashing into the wall. Dan dropped the invisibility act, glaring coldly with red eyes at the man struggling back to his feet. Frederich sneered at the fiery haired shade as his glamour dissolved, revealing his true form as an incubus. The sight of that ivory skin and those bronze-golden eyes filled Danny with a chilling fear. Seeing the thing that violated him brought back all the nightmares he suffered in the past eight months, forcing him to relive that terrifying event over and over in his sleep.

The only thing stopping his fear and panic from taking complete control and freezing every muscle in his body was his desire to protect his sister. If they didn't stop the incubus here, Jazz would be in danger. Danny refused to allow this shit headed incubus hurt his sister like that. Climbing to his feet, Danny balled his fists at his sides, his eyes shifting to green as he glared with cold hatred at the incubus.

"How did you even get in the house?" Danny demanded, taking the moment to ask what was nagging at his mind. "There's a protection barrier around this house."

The incubus laughed, his golden gaze drifting casually between Dan and Danny, like he was trying to decide his best strategy to attack. "That pathetic barrier? You should have had a proper witch do it. That thing was easy to break."

"Your neck looks pretty easy to break too." Dan cracked the knuckles of one hand. He kept near to Danny, standing in the way of the incubus from reaching his prey.

Frederich snorted, managing to look unimpressed by Dan despite his larger muscular form that would intimidate many others. "Do you think you can hide behind this joker forever? Shades have limited lives. The more he uses his powers, the quicker he'll fade away."

"Want to give it a go then?" Dan smirked, eagerness in his red eyes. He wanted a fight, but more than his hunger for violence, he wanted to pound on the creep that hurt Danny. "Do I have confirmation?" Dan flicked his gaze toward his charge.

Danny nodded with a grim expression. "Yeah, that's the same bastard."

Dan grinned. "Excellent."

Frederich frowned at the exchange, his eye twitching at the pair talking like he wasn't even there. "You'll find I won't be that easy to defeat."

When the incubus launched at them, Dan grabbed hold of Danny, changing them both to intangible. Frederich sailed right through them and crashed into the desk, tangling with the chair that clattered to the ground with him. As the incubus struggled back to his feet, Dan pushed Danny toward the door of the bedroom.

"Get out of here," Dan ordered, keeping his focus on the incubus. When they arrived home from Lancer's house after the ritual, they didn't have a lot of time to practice control over his powers before Danny's mother called him down to dinner.

"Danny!" The shocked gasp made Danny spin around, and he froze when he saw his sister standing in the doorway. Jazz's aqua colored eyes were wide as she glanced around the room, taking in the sight of the strange man with the white fiery hair and the incubus standing by Danny's desk with a furious scowl on his face. Danny worked his mouth, but he couldn't think of what to tell her. Snapping his mouth shut, he gulped as he realized that he would have to tell her that Frederich was merely using her, and his heart sank that that thought.

Frederich took a look around at the people gathered in the room, and his glower darkened. "This isn't over," the incubus shouted before diving out the window, shattering the glass pane.

"Coward," Dan muttered grumpily.

"Danny, what's going on?" Jazz asked numbly, staring at her brother with a look that begged for some kind of explanation.

"Your boyfriend is a disgusting incubus," Dan explained without preamble or thought of breaking the news gently.

"You're so not allowed to tell people anything ever," Danny growled as he shot a narrow eyed glare at the shade.

"Danny, who is that?" Jazz asked in a shaky voice as she pointed at Dan. "And what do you mean my boyfriend is an incubus? You're not starting to believe in all the crazy stuff Mom and Dad say, are you?" Despite her disbelief, her gaze kept finding the flickering flames of Dan's hair. Her aqua eyes said she didn't want to believe what she was seeing, but the truth in front of her was difficult to deny.

Danny rubbed a hand over his face, trying to figure out how best to explain everything. "It's, um-" He chewed on his lip as he watched his sister.

"Danny!" Their parents barged into the room, and Danny backed away quickly as his blue eyes snapped wide open. Worry was etched in their faces. "We heard a crash up here. What's going on? And who is that?"

"Is his hair on fire?" Jack asked curiously, taking note of Dan while Danny simply wanted to crawl into a hole and wait for the chaos that was about to ensue to be over.

"It was here, wasn't it?" Masters asked from behind Danny's parents.

"What was here?" Maddie questioned with concern as she turned to frown at the principal of her son's school. Danny noticed Lancer arrived with the rest of the adults, and it felt like his head was spinning. Too much was happening all at once, from Frederich revealing himself as the incubus to Jazz charging into the room shortly followed by the four adults.

"Someone start explaining what exactly is going on!" Jazz demanded, growing frustrated with the lack of answers and her inability understand what happened.

"It may be time to start telling your family the truth, Daniel," Masters said with a stern look down his nose at his student.

Danny stared at his principal then his teacher. Finally his gaze circled around at his family, each of their faces filled with concern with a hint of curiosity mingled into their eyes. When Dan placed a hand on his shoulder, Danny sighed tiredly. He knew he couldn't run forever from telling the truth, but he never expected it to come out like this.

"Jazz, your boyfriend was an incubus," Danny said calmly.

"An incubus? There was an incubus in our house?" Jack looked both excited at the possibility of the supernatural and disappointed that he was only learning that something supernatural was in their house after it was too late.

"Danny, incubi aren't real," Jazz said, trying to keep her voice steady, though her eyes spoke of fear that Danny was being one hundred percent honest with her right now.

"They're very real, Jazz. Everything that Mom and Dad ever talked about is real, and I know this because," Danny's gaze flicked between his parents, "I've been fighting against them for years."

"Ha!" Jack crowed happily. "I knew the supernatural were real!"

"Danny, why didn't you ever tell us about this?" Maddie frowned in concern.

"Because life already seemed crazy enough without you dragging me along on hunts to use as some sort of bait for the supernatural," Danny complained. "I can't even explain why I just seem to attract the supernatural to me. The incubus attacked me because of my smell. And he found Jazz because apparently she has a similar scent."

"Not that I believe any of this," Jazz jumped in holding up her hands. "But why would an incubus attack you? I would assume that the books, not that I've read any of them, say that incubus hunt young, female virgins."

"Apparently that idea isn't so set in stone. I imagine there are some succubi that would feed on a female if she found the woman attractive enough." Danny shifted awkwardly under the gazes of his family. He didn't like being the center of attention like this.

"When you say the incubus attacked you," Maddie said, the color draining from her face, "you don't mean... do you?"

Danny stared at his mother with that look of horror at what happened to her son flashing in her violet eyes. His heart hurt seeing that pained look in his mother's eyes. Jazz gave a gasp as she came to the same realization as their mother. Tears gathered at the edges of her aqua colored eyes, but she hesitated to hug him. Danny lowered his eyes, not able to look at his family as he said what needed to be told next.

"The incubus raped me," Danny managed to get out after a few attempts, his voice thick with his pain and misery. "And then it killed me."

"Danny, what are you saying?" Maddie stepped forward. "You're right here. You're not dead." She took his face in her hands to lift it up to look at her, but she gasped at the icy feel of his flesh.

"I was dead," Danny corrected. "But Sam brought me back with magic."

Dan coughed. "I believe she had a little help."

Danny glanced only briefly at Dan. "Er, right. I should explain him too." He jerked a thumb at Dan. "This is Dan. He's a shade, and with his help and Sam's magic, we were both able to return to this world. And with a little help, we were able to give him a stable form on this plane of existence. He's, uh," he shrugged, "like a protector now." In the next moment, he was drawn into a crushing embrace by his father.

"You could have told us, Danny!" Jack said, holding his son like he never wanted to let go and risk something else trying to hurt his child. "All this time, you've been dealing with this on your own! You could have talked to us about this."

Danny sighed, feeling his mother and sister joining the big family hug. When he glanced at Dan, he almost thought the shade wanted to join in too. "The whole supernatural aspect of it made it difficult to talk with you," he admitted. "And I only recently got the courage up to talk to someone about the rape so that I can deal with it and try to move on. And you can let go any time now."

Jack laughed weakly in embarrassment as he released his son. "Sorry." He placed a large hand on Danny's shoulder. "But I want you to feel like you can talk to us about anything. Supernatural or not."

"About the supernatural," Dan cut in, drawing attention back to his existence. "You're hunters." He pointed at Jack and Maddie. "And your Danny's parents. But if you so much as think of cutting him open like some little science experiment, I will stop you."

"I can't believe you're saying something like that." Jack looked offended by the threat.

"He's our son!" Maddie insisted, angry at the implication that she would do something to hurt her son. "No matter what's happened to him, that fact remains unchanged. We love him!"

"But that was a reason I was hesitant about you finding out," Danny murmured, dropping his gaze away from his parents.

"Well, obviously," Jazz said as she drew her brother to her, hugging him protectively, and Danny noticed a frown on Dan's face. "With the way you two always go on about what you'd do once you got your hands on something supernatural, of course he's going to be afraid you might dissect him to what makes him tick."

"We would never do that!" their parents argued together.

"All we ever wanted," Jack sighed, showing a tiredness Danny couldn't recall ever seeing in his father, "was the chance to meet the supernatural and learn more about them. We don't want to hurt or kill them. Just study them."

A phone ringing cut short the little truth telling party that was taking place. Danny frowned as he turned his attention to his principal as the silver haired man answered the call with a perplexed expression. Masters' expression soured even more as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Thank you for that information," Masters said at last before ending the call. He looked around to find everyone watching him. "It seems that the incubus has a connection with someone in town." Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he glanced briefly at Lancer then back to the family. "I'm sure you'll want to talk more about everything. We'll excuse ourselves now."

"Ah, Vladdie!" Jack caught his old friend by the arm. "Come around again? I've really missed you."

Masters glanced past the larger man then nodded. "I'm sure that can be arranged later." With a nod to his college friends, Masters took hold of Lancer's arm, and the two men left the bedroom.

"So what are we supposed to do with this shade?" Maddie asked, placing her hands on her hips as she looked Dan over with a lift of her eyebrow. "He can't go walking around looking like this."

"Guess it's a good thing Danny gave me some of his humanity." Dan quirked a smirk, shifting back into a human appearance, which gained startled gasps from the rest of Danny's family. The reaction only made Dan look more amused.

"He could almost pass for Danny's brother," Jazz said thoughtfully as she tapped a finger to her chin. The comment made Dan frown as he shot a look at Danny.

Maddie sighed as she looked at the broken window. "We'll have to board that up until we can replace it."

"I might be able to do something about that," Danny said with a touch of uncertainty. He wasn't sure it would work or if he could even get his powers to work properly. Walking over to the broken window, Danny placed his hands to the sides of the window frame. With a deep breath, he concentrated like Dan and Lancer told him many times before. Slowly, he felt the cold building up in him, reaching down to his hands and spreading out from there. He could hear the gasps of awe behind him, guessing his change in appearance probably shocked them as much as his ability, but he kept his focus on using his cryokinesis. In several moments, the broken window was sealed shut with a sheet of ice.

"Better," Dan said, not impressed. "But it still takes you too long to access your powers. You need to practice more."

"Danny, how?" Jazz asked stunned at the sight of Danny making ice out of nothing.

With a sigh, Danny turned back to his family. "It's, uh, part of the whole dying and being brought back to life thing," he answered awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Though now that Dan and I did the whole exchange thing to give him a real form in this world, I'll be able to do other things too."

"You have to show us everything," Jack insisted excitedly, and Maddie nodded enthusiastically.

Danny flushed shyly, but he could only imagine this was something his parents dreamed about for years: having something supernatural to study. "Dan can show you some things," he suggested, pushing the three of them toward the door of his bedroom. "He has a lot more control over his powers than I do mine."

His parents seemed intrigued by that suggestion, though Dan looked angered as he was shoved out the door with the two adults. Jack and Maddie took hold of him and dragged Dan down the hallway, already tossing out questions. When they were near the top of the stairs, Danny thought he head Dan ask about having some ice cream.

"Jazz," Danny turned back to his sister and frowned, "I'm really sorry about Frederich."

The reminder about her boyfriend made Jazz's expression crumble. "I thought he really liked me," she admitted, running a thumb under one eye to clear away a tear. "He was always so sweet to me, and he treated me like I was something precious. He always listened when I talked and never acted like other people who think I'm just some brainy know-it-all. I really thought this was it. He's the only guy that's ever liked me, and it was all a lie."

Danny pulled his sister into his arms, and Jazz sobbed into his shoulder. "You're going to find someone, Jazz." He held her tightly, stroking a hand over her auburn hair. "There's someone out there that's a perfect match for you. I know you'll find someone that will really love you. You're smart and beautiful, and any guy that doesn't fall for you is a total idiot."

Jazz laughed as she cried. "Thanks, Danny."


	40. Chapter 40

The shade was certainly a surprise to him. As much as he never expected that one man to live after ripping open his side to let his insides spill onto the ground, he never considered that something would have returned with that man's soul when he was revived. Shades were rumors he heard about from time to time. They were hardly that powerful, and from the talk he heard, their existences were unstable. Using what little power they had tended to result in the shade burning itself out of existence, which left them simply drifting, often unseen, slowly wasting away even through that simply act of remaining alive. Or as alive as a shade ever was. They were like ghosts, mere apparitions of a consciousness. He certainly hadn't anticipated this shade to be able to knock him over with some sort of energy ball or turn himself intangible. This shade was far different from the rumors he heard.

Freakshow. It was a name he chose for himself when he came to realize his true self. He only used the name his mother gave him when he was posing as a normal human, like in the case of getting close to Jazz in order to learn more about her brother Danny.

Mouth pursing in frustration, Freakshow kicked in the door to the rundown building, or at least what looked rundown from the outside. The inside of the building still had a strong, stable structure supporting it. The outside appearance was merely a decoy, an illusion, to drive people away from it. Any thief or criminal or homeless person seeking refuge within the building would be quite sorry for daring to enter it. The door banged against the wall with a loud noise as he stormed inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

"I take it things did not go as you planned." The woman's voice came from the shadows in the corner of the room. A large boiling cauldron sat in the center with a fire burning beneath it and casting little light.

"There was an unexpected complication. I thought it best to run before the shade could crush me." Freakshow wandered over to the cauldron, peering into the bubbling green goo. It had a horrible stench that made his reel back with his fingers pinching his nostrils shut. He didn't have even a hint of temptation to ask what the woman was cooking up in the cauldron.

"A shade?" Curiosity filled the woman's voice.

Movement shifted in the shadows, and she stepped forward into the ring of soft flickering light provided by the fire. The woman stood slightly shorter than he, but she probably would be even shorter if she didn't wear those knee high black boots. She wasn't modest in her attire, wearing only a black corset and skimpy lace black underwear under her blood red velvet cloak. This was her home, and she hardly cared about dressing appropriately, though she would still wear the same thing even if she stepped out the door. Her black hair was twisted into spikes, five of them starting at the forehead and traveling back. The rest of her head was shaved. Various tattoos depicting flaming skulls, bats, snakes, and ghosts decorated what was visible of her green tinged flesh from the neck down. Her red eyes danced in the light as she smirked.

"I wouldn't think a shade should be any problem for you," she said as she walked over to the cauldron.

"There was something different about this shade, Lydia," Freakshow snapped, gritting his teeth in frustration. He should have had Danny as his by now. Feasted upon that delectable energy before traveling back down the stairs to have his sister as seconds. Their parents were meant to be out for the night, so he would have plenty of time to feed on both siblings and escape before anyone was the wiser. "He could do things that none of the rumors mentioned."

"My dear Freakshow!" Lydia laughed with no real mirth in it as she twirled a finger through the green goo in her cauldron. "Not a lot is really known about all the shades that exist. For the most part, their existence is considered questionable. It's like those nuts trying to prove ghosts exists. Of course, those do, but you know normal humans. They're usually blind to the supernatural around them."

"He stands in my way," Freakshow growled furiously. "I _will_ finish what I started with that boy. I don't like leaving my meals unfinished."

"Yes," Lydia nodded to his words, "you've mentioned it many times these past six months." She tilted her head as she stared at him. Walking over to him, she took the ruby triangle dangling from his ear in her hand. "I'll have to make you another cloak. This one broke." She slipped the earring from his lobe with practiced ease as her expression softened. It often did that around him, when she looked at him in quiet moments.

It almost seemed laughable that she could love a monster like him, but it wouldn't be unusual. His mother was seduced by an incubus when he was conceived. Freakshow never understood why his father let his mother live, but if he killed her like the rest, then Freakshow never would have been born. Perhaps there was some need to breed that came with being an incubus. Freakshow never really knew much about his father, so he never learned all there was to being an incubus. It was difficult to stay in one area for a prolonged time when he needed to feed on the energy of those he violated.

His first encounter with Lydia was only weeks after he ran into Jazz and learned that Danny still lived after his attack. Since he was refusing to feast on Jazz until he could get into her family's house and find Danny again, Freakshow needed to find other victims on which to feed. Lydia's scent attracted him to her, and he was surprised to discover she was no mere human female. She was a year younger, at most, than he, but she gave herself over to dark magic for power years ago. It was perhaps her black soul that stopped him from feeding on her. That first night, he remembered fondly with a smile.

It was a month later when they hatched the idea together. Freakshow already mentioned he was tracking down his prey that escaped him somehow, and Lydia was eager to help him. Jazz had yet to tell him where her family lived until only recently when she explained that they were moving to the small town of Amity Park. That location was not unknown to Lydia, who told him that they would likely encounter much opposition thanks to the council members that watched over that town. For that reason, he needed her magic to cloak his presence from anyone in town that could sense him. Freakshow only knew of the town by name because his distant relatives lived here, though he never bothered to visit them.

"Until I have a new one made up, you should remain here. This place is protected from anyone that might try to find you." Lydia held the ruby earring in her hand as she examined it. Then her eyes flicked up to Freakshow. "Why is this boy so important to you anyway? You always say you don't like leaving a meal unfinished. But what drew you to this boy in the first place? You've never explained that."

"Jealous?" Freakshow inquired, smirking when Lydia narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't really know how to describe it." He shrugged as he folded his arms, and he thought about it for some time. "It was like smelling the most delicious, tasty treat and just not being able to say no to it. One whiff of his scent, and I had to have him." He grinned recalling the moment he got near enough to smell Danny. "Death certainly hasn't dulled his scent."

Lydia's hand curled around the ruby in her hand. "So what is your grand plan now? He knows you've come back for him, and you've lost your cover as the human Frederich Showenhower."

"That shade will be the biggest problem," Freakshow grumbled, tempted to kick the side of the cauldron in frustration, but knowing how painful that would be, he resisted that urge. "If I can eliminate him, getting to the boy should be easy. The shade is his only protection. I'll only have to wait for the boy to be alone. Then I can strike."

"Perhaps it would be wise to observe them for some time," Lydia suggested. "Learn all that this shade can do before attacking. You don't want any other surprises, do you?"

Freakshow gritted his teeth. "No," he agreed, folding his arms as he frowned. He certainly didn't want another unexpected encounter with the shade. "What do you suggest?"

Lydia grinned as her tattoos wiggled over her green flesh. "Just leave that to me."


	41. Chapter 41

Dan folded his arms with a grumpy frown as he remembered the conversation from earlier. This wasn't his idea for how to spend his day, but Danny was much too stubborn sometimes.

"Look," Danny said with an exasperated sigh as he sat at his desk. "I'm grounded, which means I'm basically stuck here all day, and I do need to get this homework done before school starts up again. So it would be really helpful if you could go with Jazz to the bookstore."

"I promised to keep you safe." Dan pointed a finger into Danny's chest. "I can't do that if I'm off wandering around with your sister instead of staying here to watch you."

"Lancer put up a new barrier around the house. That incubus, Frederich, won't be able to get back in here again. I'm safe here." Danny smiled, trying to reassure the shade that no harm would come to him in Dan's absence. "But he wants Jazz just as much as he wants me. You heard him. Jazz shares the same attractive scent that I have. If he catches her alone, he'll do the same to her that he did to me. I won't allow that to happen." His determination to protect his sister made his eyes flash briefly green. "But unfortunately, I can't do that right now because I already wasted my three hours of outside time earlier when I was showing Jazz around town. She wants to check out that bookstore we passed before she has to leave to head back to college." Danny sighed, running a hand through his raven hair.

"You don't want her to leave." Dan could see the answer clearly on Danny's face. Jazz would be leaving in the morning to head back to college. Once she was out of his sight, Jazz would be in danger. That damn incubus could leave town as well, chasing after Jazz, and when he found her again, he would waste no time to feed on her. Dan could understand Danny's worry over his sister because it was the same feeling he had about Danny.

"She won't have anyone to protect her at college," Danny mumbled, lowering his eyes filled with misery. "I know I can't protect everyone all the time. But she's my sister! If anything happens to Jazz, I don't think I could live with myself for not protecting her."

Dan took a deep breath and huffed out a sigh. "Fine. I'll do the protection duty," he agreed in a grumble. "But I'm not going to enjoy it." His grumpiness almost dissolved when Danny smiled brightly at him. It was strange to be on the receiving end of a smile like that. He didn't have much opportunity to have someone smile at him when he was alone in cold, miserable darkness. "Whatever," Dan muttered as he left the bedroom.

"This is really nice of you," Jazz said, interrupting Dan's memory of his talk with Danny. "It didn't seem like you wanted to let Danny out of your sight for even a second. I didn't think you would agree to come with me."

"Danny begged me to come along," Dan said flatly as he eyed to the people they passed. If Frederich could work a glamour, he could make himself look like anyone, which left Dan suspicious of every person on the street. He really wished he had the chance to tear that incubus to shreds for what he did to Danny. His teeth clenched painfully at the way the incubus cowardly ran away. Now Frederich remained on the loose, and from what Danny heard, that vampire and witch had yet to track down the incubus, further frustrating Dan.

Jazz lowered her aqua colored eyes as she frowned, the expression looking so much like her brother. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?" She hugged her arms around her body, tugging her aqua coat with a furry white collar tighter around her. "I threw myself into a relationship with the first guy that showed any interest in me, and I didn't even stop to consider there might be some ulterior motive in him getting close to me. Looking back on it, it seems so obvious. He was way too interested in hearing about Danny. I just thought that it was a good thing that he cared about my family."

Dan tried not to groan out loud at her rambling. "You are an idiot," he agreed flatly and tried to ignore the hurt that showed in her eyes at his words. "But anyone else would have made the same mistake. You didn't believe in the supernatural, had no evidence to support that the supernatural even existed, so you had no reason to suspect that this guy might not be as human as he appeared. You can't blame yourself for not knowing everything, and Danny certainly wouldn't want you to blaming yourself."

Jazz sighed, still with that regret in her eyes. "If you hadn't been there, Frederich could have really hurt Danny again, and it would have been my fault."

Dan sighed as he stopped outside the door to the bookstore that Jazz wanted to visit. The carved wooden door and fancy writing on the sign overhead gave the shop an old feeling, like the building stood there for many decades, barely changing with the times. It was probably filled with old, dusty tomes and the smell of worn leather, and though he didn't know all that much about the auburn haired woman before him, the idea of the ancient shop seemed like a very fitting place for Jazz.

"Even without me, Danny has his own power. He could use cryokinesis before we did the exchange in the ritual," Dan explained, praying that they wouldn't keep running circles with this conversation. "And his teacher and principal would have come in and stopped things. That Masters dude has a sense about when his students are being hurt. He was alerted the moment that incubus squeezed Danny's arm just a little too hard. That incubus wouldn't have gotten very far before they came in to stop him. So stop putting all the blame on yourself. You couldn't have known."

Jazz stared up at Dan, searching his face with her aqua colored eyes. "You act very older brotherly," she said as a smile twitched part way onto her face. "But that's not how you want Danny to see you."

Dan could feel the heat rising to his cheeks as he turned his head away, jerking open the door to the bookstore. "I don't know what you mean."

Jazz laughed lightly, hiding her smile behind a hand. "You can deny it, but it's very clear how much you care about him." She placed a hand on his arm as her smile fell into a frown. "He does care about you, but I'm not sure he'll return those same feelings. It looked like he was rather attached to that Dash boy."

Dan growled at the mention of that blond man. He knew he should get along with the other man, if for no other reason than to please Danny, who didn't want any fighting among his friends. But it was frustrating to see that look on Danny's face every time he saw Dash, or said his name, or heard mention of the blond man, or even simply thought about him. It was clear Danny had strong affection for Dash, and Dan knew somewhere inside him that he would probably never be on the receiving end of that affection.

"Dan, even if he never falls madly in love with you, Danny still cares a lot for you. You have that connection thing. It'll hurt him if you pull away from him simply because he can't love you the way you love him." Jazz squeezed his arm. "Being there and caring for him will be a great help to him getting over the rape. I wish I could stay and support him, but-"

"He wouldn't want you to skip college just because of him," Dan assured her. Danny mentioned that point earlier when Jazz kept giving that look that said she was struggling with her desire to stay for her brother and leaving to finish her college education. "You can always talk to him on the phone. You won't be completely abandoning him to concentrate on your education." Since the ritual, and Danny revealing everything to his family, Dan learned many various things about this world as Danny's family tried to educate him, though Jack was far more interested in keeping the topic solely on the supernatural. Dan sighed mentally as he recalled the constant barrage of questions from the parents after they discovered the truth. The rocky road ice cream was pretty good though.

Jazz grinned at him. "For all your scariness, you're actually a great big teddy bear."

"No, I'm not," Dan grumped and pointed through the open door. "Now come on. Danny will be pacing around his room the entire time worrying about you if you take forever in here."

Jazz still wore that knowing smile as she skipped past him into the bookstore. Dan huffed a grumbling sigh and followed her inside where the predicted smell of worn leather and dust hit his nose. He kept close to Jazz, not allowing her to wander out of his sight. The woman ran her fingers over the spines of the old books on the shelves as she scanned the titles. Folding his arms, Dan glanced around the bookstore, taking note of how few other people occupied the store and most of them being old. At the checkout counter, a young man with pale skin sat reading a magazine. His dyed purple hair was twisted to the sides in some weird semblance of horns. He had a hoop piercing through his lower lip and tattoos up his arms. The punk look didn't fit in well with the atmosphere of the store. Dan narrowed his dark blue eyes at the man before he followed Jazz down another aisle of the store.

"Watch-" Dan started to warn when he spotted a book falling off a higher shelf, but another man caught it before it could hit Jazz in the head. "Out," he finished lamely as he glared darkly at the tall man.

"You should keep a better eye out," the man said, his eyes flashing briefly red as he glanced at Dan. "How would Daniel react if you failed to protect his sister?"

"You!" Dan seized hold of the man's pinstriped vest and shoved him up against the bookshelf.

"Dan," Jazz shouted, trying to pull the shade away from the man. The few people in the bookstore came to peek down the aisle when they heard the commotion. "That's not Frederich."

Dan didn't let up his hold on the man, who seemed far too relaxed about the situation. "If he has a glamour, he could assume any form he wants," he pointed out to her in a low voice, clenching his teeth tightly. "How did he know about Danny or that you were his sister?" His gaze barely broke away from glaring at the man to glance at Jazz.

"I assure you, Dan, that I am by no means an incubus," the man said calmly. His eyes darted up and down the aisle, probably noting the three or four people still watching them. "I am glad to see that you and Daniel were able to find a means of keeping you safely within this plane of existence. I believe your assistance will be quite useful. And Jasmine," he smiled as he held out a hand to her, "it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Daniel's history teacher. Dylan Cogsworth, but those in the know call me Clockwork."

Dan frowned uncertainly at the man as Jazz tentatively shook Clockwork's hand. He thought he vaguely recalled the man from what he gathered while still existing inside of Danny's body. The distinctive scar over his left eye stood out along with the long white hair that he kept tied back in a low ponytail. The incubus wouldn't know that this man was Danny's teacher, and Dan would bet his life that Clockwork didn't go around giving away that name to just anyone. But the obvious proof that this man was indeed not the incubus was curious in itself.

"If you're who you say you are," Dan said, only slightly loosening his grip on the man, "then what was on the paper you confiscated from-"

"He drew crude sketches of you from what he remembered of his nightmares," Clockwork answered easily without need to hear the end of the question. "Really, you could ask me any dozen of things that the incubus shouldn't know, and I could answer them all without you even having to open your mouth." He leaned forward, that red gleam appearing very briefly in his eyes. "I see the whole of time. I can tell everything that has, will, and can happen. Do you still think I could be the incubus?"

"So what happened to my brother was something that you could have stopped?" Jazz frowned at the man. "But it was something that needed to happen and that's why you didn't do anything to stop it?"

"I can't tell you how nice it is to meet someone that gets that point without me needing to explain it." Clockwork looked exhausted at the mere thought of having to explain things to the pair. When Dan finally released his hold on the man, Clockwork smoothed out his clothes. "Unfortunately, there are terrible experiences that people need to face in their lives. Your brother is quite strong. He'll struggle to deal with what happened, the pain of it will never leave him, but he'll survive. And it was necessary for Dan to come here. Despite your propensity for violence, there is much good you can do with your powers." His gaze turned back to Jazz. "But I am regretful that Daniel has had to suffer such a horrible experience. Sometimes, I do wish I could toss away my duty of watching over time and save people like him from being hurt in that way."

Jazz nodded like she understood perfectly what the man said, but her expression spoke of the hurt she felt that Danny could have avoided the encounter with the incubus if it wasn't something that time said he needed to experience. "Since you know all that can and will happen, can you at least tell me if the bastard will be dealt with?" Anger overtook her eyes, furious about what the incubus did to her brother.

"I can only tell you yes. Beyond that, I'm unable to give you the full details." Clockwork looked around again, but by then, the other people in the bookstore lost interest in their encounter. "As you can imagine, I don't often let people know about my time viewing abilities, but this was a special case to convince you that I'm not the threat you're trying to protect young Jasmine from."

Dan folded his arms as he looked the man over with narrowed blue eyes. "With your ability, you could have avoided that whole misunderstanding by not being here at the same time as us."

"Quite true," Clockwork agreed with a nod. "But I was interested in picking up a book." He held up the book in his hand as he slid a grin Jazz's way.

Dan quirked an eyebrow at that but didn't comment on it. If Clockwork could foresee who he would spend the rest of his life with, then this whole encounter might have simply been a ruse to meet with Jazz for the first time. Knowing everything, apparently, didn't mean shortcuts were acceptable, especially when it came to human interactions.

"I believe you'll find something of interest on the other side of this shelf," Clockwork told Jazz, who blinked at him. Her curiosity led her to walk around to the other side to discover what book the man thought would catch her attention.

"Such a shame she's leaving tomorrow," Dan said quietly, smirking at the history teacher.

"I was well aware of that fact before I even stepped foot into this bookstore," Clockwork returned with a flat stare. "But I'm sure you can understand that it's important for you to keep my ability secret. Imagine the damage that could be done if Skulker learned about what I know and tried to use me to find a way for him to successfully this planet with Kwan and Daniel."

That last part made Dan's eyes flash red as his upper lip drew back in a snarl. "What do you mean 'and' Danny?"

"You're in part to blame for Skulker learning there's something different about Daniel." Clockwork narrowed his eyes as he frowned at the shade. "And I'm sure he'd be quite interested in you as well if he were to learn of your existence. After all a shade being given his own body through an alchemic ritual? That definitely qualifies you as rare and unique."

Dan's mouth thinned angrily as his nostrils flared with each annoy puff of breath. "So I'm in as much danger as the fox and Danny?" His eyes narrowed at the man, but a smirk stretched over his face. "Sounds like fun."

"This isn't a game, Dan. You touch Skulker without any proper cause, and there will be a war on our hands." Clockwork folded his arms as a smile tugged at his mouth. "But I'm sure you'll think of something."

"But of course, you won't tell me anything about how to eliminate Skulker without starting a war." Dan didn't let the smirk drop from his face, though he wondered if anyone else ever wanted to punch this man in the face when talking to him. His cryptic speech and hints of things to come were highly irritating and grated on Dan's nerves.

"I can't believe they had this," Jazz said as she returned, clutching a thick, old tome to her chest. Her face was bright with excitement over finding whatever the book was. "I," she rolled her eyes with a light color on her cheeks, "would ask how you knew, but obviously that time viewing ability must come in real handy."

"I do love when it gives me the opportunity to put a smile on someone's face." Clockwork smiled pleasantly as he bowed to Jazz. Dan rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to gag at the show from the white haired man, but it seemed obvious that Jazz enjoyed the attention. Perhaps that was a good thing after her experience with Frederich the incubus. If Clockwork was using his power to help protect Danny, then Dan doubted Clockwork had terrible ulterior motives involving Jazz.


	42. Chapter 42

It wasn't often that he woke up warm and cozy and not drenched in sweat with his heart racing in panic after a nightmare grabbed him in the middle of the night. The morning sunlight spilled in through the opening in the curtains on his window that he didn't close all the way last night. His parents replaced the broken window the day before, which was nice because even with the sheet of ice covering the window, it remained cold in his bedroom. But his sleepy mind turned back to the unusual warmth and the safe feeling that accompanied the coziness of laying curled up in the thick covers of his bed. The weight around his waist was also curious, and his brow pinched as he tried to work through the haze of waking to figure out what that weight could be.

In his dream, he imagined it was Dash curled around him, and he was able to smile because the rape wasn't a wall between them anymore. He could lay in Dash's arms all day without suffering a panic attack over the fact that someone was touching him. He wanted so badly for that to be real and not simply a dream. Frowning, he twisted his head around enough that when he cracked open his bright blue eyes, he could see the face of the person with his arm wrapped around his waist.

"What are you doing, Dan?" Danny mumbled groggily, reaching up a hand to rub at his still tired eyes. He felt more rested than most mornings, but he stayed up late the previous night working on last minute homework so that he could spend his final day of winter break lazing around like an average teenager. He wouldn't be able to do anything fun like play computer games or lay out on the couch watching television all day, but he could get some extra reading done. Or simply sleep the entire day, which would be easier without Dan holding him, he thought.

"You were having a nightmare," Dan explained, not bothering to open his eyes, though Danny knew he wasn't really sleeping. According to him, Dan didn't need sleep when he was in his true form as a shade, and Danny was still a little surprised that his flaming white hair didn't set his bed on fire. Apparently, the fiery hair didn't always have to burn what it touched. Danny found that out the other day when Dan let him run his fingers through the fire and discovered that the flames merely warmed his hand pleasantly without hurting him. "You seemed to calm down when I did this, so I didn't want to wake you."

The frown remained on his face as Danny imagined how Dash would react if he saw the pair right now. Danny was still working on getting comfortable with Dash holding him, and he didn't think Dash would accept the excuse that there was connection between him and Dan that allowed him not to completely freak out at that moment. Dan's arms reminded him of safety in the darkness, fighting off the cold loneliness of oblivion. Danny could already see rage in Dash's eyes if he tried to explain that to the blond man. He wanted the two of them to get along, but after the ritual, it looked obvious that two would continue to butt heads with each other.

With a sigh, Danny tugged the arm away from his body. He did appreciate Dan helping to fight off his nightmares. It was nice waking up for once without feeling like he was choking on a scream. Climbing out of the bed, he scratched a hand through his raven hair as he stumbled toward the door of his bedroom.

"Breakfast," Danny mumbled, knowing Dan would probably reach the kitchen before him through the use of his powers. He wasn't even half way down the hallway when he heard his mother's surprised yelp when Dan suddenly appeared before her. A smile twitched at his mouth. He was still getting used to his powers, and the last time he tried to phase through the floor resulted in him getting stuck halfway. Dan laughed for a good twenty minutes at that before Danny finally managed to turn himself intangible again and fall the rest of the way through the floor. At that time, he didn't find it very amusing, but now he could look back on it with a laugh.

Life changed since the night that Frederich revealed himself as the incubus that raped him, but in most ways, everything still felt the same. Jazz struggled not to roll her eyes and dismiss everything their parents said as ridiculous nonsense. It wasn't the easiest pill in the world for her to swallow, learning that all her years of disbelief in the supernatural was wrong. But she was coming to terms with the truth and even showed some interest in the world she never thought existed. When she left to head back to college, it was with a few of the books that Danny had so that she could continue learning a bit more about the supernatural.

Things with his parents were much better. They still asked him about a dozen questions a day, wanting to know more about what he and Dan could do with their shared abilities. Thankfully, his nightmares about his parents discovering the truth never became real. His parents remained enthusiastic and eager to learn about the supernatural, but they showed no interest in cutting them up to learn about what made them tick. Their nightly hunts happened less, and the dinner talk usually involved Danny retelling some of his past encounters with the supernatural. Beyond their disappointment that they missed all those encounters, they looked sad that they never knew Danny went through such experiences. Danny had to assure them that they weren't terrible parents. He could have talked to them after his very first encounter, but at six years old, Danny couldn't think of telling his parents about his run in with a vicious fairy. From then on, he simply kept silent.

"Morning, Son!" Jack greeted cheerfully, sitting at the kitchen table with Dan as they waited for breakfast to be served. "How are you feeling today?"

"You don't have to ask that every day," Danny said with a sigh as he joined them. Ever since he told them about the rape, his parents felt the need to check on how he was feeling and treat him with kid gloves, like he might break if they weren't careful with him. "I'm fine. Well, not completely fine, but I'm dealing with it. It'll take me some time, but I'd really rather you kept treating me like normal."

"We're just worried," Maddie said as she set plates of fluffy scrambled eggs and juicy looking sausages before him and Dan. "You suffered through that experience, and we didn't even have a clue." Frowning, she smoothed back his raven hair that merely flopped right back into their usually messy style. "We just want you to feel comfortable telling us anything." She stepped away for a moment then returned with the plates for herself and Jack.

"Well, in that case," Danny said as he pushed absently at his breakfast, "about the night of the solstice." He cringed back when his parents stared at him. "That thing you thought you caught hold of, that was me."

"What were you doing out there?" Maddie gasped at him. "I thought we told you to stay inside."

"I was scared you would catch one of the fae and bring it back here to cut up." Danny frowned at them. "I know there are some pretty awful creatures out there, but if they aren't actually hurting anyone, then they really don't deserve being hunted down and carved up."

Jack frowned as he exchanged a look with Maddie. "I guess we really haven't given you reason not to think that," he said with a sigh.

"But now the truth is out, so no more misunderstandings. Is there more of this?" Dan asked, showing his empty plate to Maddie.

"Someone sure has a healthy appetite for claiming that you don't need to survive on human sustenance." Danny grinned at Dan's scowl.

"Of course there's more," Maddie said as she got up to get more sausage and eggs for Dan.

"Your mother and I discussed this last night," Jack started after woofing down the rest of his breakfast, eagerly holding up his plate for seconds. "Since you've been so good about keeping to your grounding, we decided that you should be allowed this last day of the break to hang out with your friends. A reward for good behavior."

"Really?" Danny grinned as he looked between his parents, who both nodded. "Thank you!" Danny hugged his dad, sitting next to him, before he got up to hug his mother as well in his excitement.

"Cold skin!" Jack shivered after feeling Danny's cheek against his face. "I'm not sure I'll get used to that."

"Sorry," Danny said weakly as he winced. "I guess I'll still be sticking to long sleeves." He headed toward the kitchen door. "I'm going to see if I can catch Tucker and Sam," he called as he jogged up the stairs. He didn't get to talk with them much since they left to return to Wisconsin and failed to mention anything about what happened since then. Entering his bedroom, he winced as he thought about how his friends would react when he told them about everything.

Dropping into the chair at his desk, Danny sighed, thinking about his friends here. Dash was still the only one that knew about Dan, and Danny doubted that Dash went and told everyone else about the ritual he witnessed. That wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to having with the rest of his friends, but he knew Dash had a point about being honest. He had no reason to be afraid of telling them the truth.

"Beyond maybe thinking I'm crazy for letting Dan live," Danny mumbled to himself as he logged onto the video chat program on his computer. He scanned for Tucker and Sam, grinning when he spotted their names online. He opened a conference call with them and practically bounced in his seat at being able to talk with them again.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker greeted with excited shouts the very instant they answered the call.

"Sorry this is so early." Danny couldn't wipe his grin off his face at seeing them. It wasn't the same as hanging out in person, but it was great for being to talk to them face to face.

"I'm guessing your grounding got lifted," Tucker said, his gaze sliding to some other part of his screen, and Danny guessed he was obsessing over some computer game.

"Yeah, my dad just told me I had the whole day free to do whatever I wanted." Danny glanced between the two video windows showing Tucker and Sam. "And I guess I should start with telling you guys about something that happened after you left." He rubbed awkwardly at his neck as he tried to think of how to tell them.

"Your mom is a great cook," Dan said, floating up through the floor and appearing suddenly behind Danny.

"Danny, who is that?" Sam demanded, leaning closer to her screen as she glared at him. From the scream that could be heard on Tucker's end of the call, Danny guessed that his character met with a horrible death as Tucker gaped at the video window showing Danny.

"I guess that was one way for you to find out." Danny sighed tiredly. "This," he waved Dan over to the computer, "is Dan." He glared upward when Dan draped his arms around Danny's shoulder and rested his chin on the messy mop of raven hair. "He's a shade and was the price of bringing me back from death. But it's all good now because he has his own body and is no longer a threat to me."

"What?" Sam shouted while Tucker remained shocked by the news. "When were you going to tell us about this? Was he attacking you while we were there?" Her face was so large on the screen that Danny wondered if she was pressed right up against it. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"

"Is that a new eyebrow piercing?" Tucker asked curiously, drawing Danny's attention to the little silver hoop on Sam's right eyebrow.

"It's fake." Sam pulled back from the screen as she removed the fake piercing. "I wanted to give my parents a scare." She grinned at that idea, and Danny had to smile with a roll of his eyes. Sam once slapped on a fake tattoo that looped around her throat, and her mother nearly had a heart attack at the sight of it. "But don't think changing the subject is going to distract me." She narrowed her violet eyes at Danny.

"You were leaving," Danny said with a sigh. "I didn't want to make you both worry. But it's okay because Lancer figured out a ritual that would give Dan his own body. So everything is good now. No need to worry about it."

"Well, that's great, man!" Tucker grinned while Sam fumed on the other video window. His green eyes lifted to Dan, and he frowned. "But, uh, what's with the whole draping over you thing?" He lifted a curious eyebrow at that.

"Well, it's, uh," Danny mumbled, fumbling for words before he sighed. "He was there in the dark place where my soul was after I died. He gave me comfort there." He shrugged. "We gave each other comfort. I guess we'll always have that sort of connection with each other. And, I mean, there was whole exchange thing during the ritual, so I guess in a way, we'll always be a part of each other."

"Ugh!" Sam complained. "I knew we shouldn't have left Amity Park! All the cool stuff happens wherever Danny is. Wisconsin has been so boring ever since you left." She frowned in disappointment.

"Well, there's always summer?" Danny offered with a weak smile. "I'm sure there's something that will want to chomp me in half by then."

"There better not," Dan grumbled, tightening his arms a little around Danny.

"Does shade translate to guard dog in some language I don't know about?" Tucker asked and looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh at Dan's reaction.

"I could toast you in a second if you were standing right in front of me," Dan threatened icily as he narrowed his red eyes at the man on the computer screen, making Tucker gulp.

"Dan, you can't go around threatening my friends." With a glare, Danny reached up and tugged at the white hair on Dan's chin. "Just remember that if you _do_ actually hurt any of them, we both get brought before the council, and I will hate you forever." The threat of hating him seemed to work well as Dan grumbled and turned his head away from the computer screen.

"He hasn't met Dash yet, has he?" Tucker asked warily, still scared by Dan's threat.

"Dash was there when we did the ritual," Danny explained.

"Oh, I bet that went over well." Sam laughed, probably imagining Dash and Dan butting heads over Danny.

"Yeah, I'm so looking forward to telling all the rest of my friends." Danny sighed at the mere thought of it. "But I should probably do that today. That way they won't all freak out tomorrow at school." He fished out his phone and started typing out a text message to all of them to meet at his house. After the message was sent, he glanced up at the computer screen again. "Oh! Have you been talking with Lancer about magic?"

"Oh yeah!" Sam grinned widely, anger over missing out on the whole excitement about the shade and the ritual fading away. "He told me about some spells, and I've only tried out a few of them, but they've worked really well so far."

"I can attest to that," Tucker said, not sounding happy with it. He stared flatly at the computer screen, perhaps glaring at Sam's image. "That last spell she tried gave me long, flowing blond hair."

Danny bit his lip but couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out of him. Even Dan chuckled at the idea of Tucker having blond hair.

"I'm sorry!" Sam apologized in exasperation. "I didn't realize how well that spell would work. And hey! I fixed it! No more blond hair now." She smiled weakly, but Tucker didn't look at all amused by the mishap.

"You're lucky you're not still here or she'd want to use as a test subject for her spells," Tucker grumbled.

"Oh, like you didn't enjoy that one that made you popular with the girls at school," Sam returned with a sour look.

"Well, it sounds like you aren't missing all the crazy since I left." Danny chuckled at the blush on Tucker's face, and he wished he was there when that spell was in effect. When the doorbell rang, Danny blinked in surprise. "Wow, that was quick. I didn't expect any of them to get here so quickly."

"I guess we should let you get back to your lover boy," Tucker teased with a grin.

"No more keeping secrets like that from us again," Sam ordered, pointing a finger at the screen with a firm look on her face.

"Yes, yes. I promise. No more secrets," Danny agreed as he closed out of the video chat program. When he turned to look at Dan, he frowned. "Maybe you should meet them looking human first. You know, not freak them out right away."

"They all know about the supernatural anyway," Dan grumbled but complied with Danny's wishes as he shifted back into his human guise. "I doubt they'll freak out that much."

"Uh, you did try to kill me. Twice," Danny pointed out as he left his bedroom with Dan trailing after him. "That alone will make them wary of your presence." When they reached the first floor, Abner and three other people that he didn't fully recognize were waiting in the front room. "Hey, Abner!"

"Hey, Danny. Uh, this is Johnny, Ember, and Kitty," Abner introduced each person by pointing to them. "We were hanging out when you sent the text to meet. I hope it's okay that they're here." He glanced curiously at Dan.

Danny's eyes lingered on Johnny, recalling that name from when Abner talked about having a crush on someone. It looked like things were going all right between them, or at least they were becoming friends. "No, that should be fine. It's nice to meet you all."

"So you're the new kid at school," Ember said with her arms folded, and Danny thought for a moment that he vaguely recognized that voice. 

"At least that name won't follow me around to college." Danny sighed, body slouching. "At least, I hope I'm not going to still be called new kid in college." The doorbell rang again then. Danny walked toward the front door and found Dash with Paulina and Desiree on the other side. Beyond them, Danny could see Kwan, Wulf, and Valerie walking up to the front door. "Come on in." He stepped aside, letting the three enter the house.

"So he's still around," Dash said with a flat glare at Dan.

"I'll be around for a _long_ time." Dan smirked at him.

"Wow! I've never seen that before," Paulina said as she passed by Dan with Desiree behind her. "Your aura is almost exactly like Danny's."

"I don't think that helps anything," Desiree whispered, pushing Paulina into the front room.

"This is quite the gathering," Valerie said as she entered the house and saw everyone else filling the front room. "This isn't some battle strategy meeting for something, is it?"

Danny shook his head as he closed the door once the last of them was inside the house. "No, I just had some things to tell everyone, and I figured it would be best just to say it all at once instead of having to repeat it again and again."

"Oh!" Maddie paused in the doorway from the kitchen as she looked around at everyone. "I didn't expect so many people. I'll whip up some more snacks." She set the tray of fresh out of the oven little bite size pizza rolls on the coffee table before heading back into the kitchen.

"Uh," Kwan said worriedly as he watched the woman leave the room. "Are you sure we should be discussing this here? With your parents around?" He looked, understandably, worried about hunters in the house, and Wulf took hold of the kitsune's hand, trying to help calm the worry the other man felt.

"It's fine. They know about me," Danny told them then shrugged. "They aren't going to hurt anyone. They just want to learn more about the supernatural. Ah, but," he said quickly with his hands raised before him as he saw the fear wash through everyone's, but Dash's, faces, "that's not why I called you all over. Firstly, I wanted to talk about this guy." He pointed at Dan, keeping close to him while Dash scowled at him.

"Dan," the shade greeted with a wave to the confused crowd. "Shade. Attacked Danny. But now that I have a body of my own on this plane of existence, I have no reason to attack him anymore."

"I feel confused already," Kitty said with her brow wrinkled and one eyebrow lifted. Ember, Johnny, and Abner didn't look like they had any better understanding than she did.

"Right, I guess I should explain something else first." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. This whole situation seemed a lot more intimidating than he thought it would be. Some of the people gathered had some knowledge of what happened to him while others were completely in the dark. His mother returned to the room briefly to set out another tray of snacks for them before she disappeared back into the kitchen to leave Danny with his friends. "So I died-"

"What?" Abner was the first to gasp out in shock.

"I died," Danny repeated, trying not to look annoyed with the interruption. "But my friend is a witch, and she used her magic to bring me back to life."

"With a little help from yours truly," Dan said, grinning proudly.

"Yes." Danny glared at the shade. "When I died, my soul was trapped in this dark place where it was only me and Dan. And when Sam yanked my soul out of there, Dan came with me. But since he's a shade, he couldn't really survive on this plane without my body because using any sort of power wasted away his existence."

"They didn't need to know that," Dan grumbled with a frown.

"But thanks to a ritual, Dan now has his own body," Danny continued, ignoring Dan's comment.

"I still don't like it," Dash muttered as he narrowed his dark blue eyes at Dan.

"So how exactly did you die?" Ember asked curiously. When some of others glared at her, she snapped, "What?"

"No, it's fine. I was going to get into that next," Danny said, but he swallowed nervously.

"Danny, you don't have to tell them about that," Dash said as he placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I should tell them. It's relevant anyway." Danny shook his head then took a deep breath. "Eight months ago, I was attacked by an incubus. That's what killed me. It raped me," he lowered his gaze, not looking at any of the others in the room, "but my friends showed up before it could finish the job, so it ripped my side open." He glanced at Dash. "I never showed you that, did I?" Pulling up his shirt, he showed everyone the wrinkled flesh covering the left side of his body.

Dash, and even Dan, gasped at the sight of his scar, along with everyone else. Danny let the shirt fall again before anyone could come over and tentatively touch the spot where the wound scarred over after Sam's magic revived him.

"The reason I'm telling you all about this is because the incubus that raped me," Danny said as he glanced around quickly, "is here in town right now."

"What?" Dash demanded as he grabbed Danny's shoulders and spun him around to face the blond man. "What do you mean? How can it be here? How do you know that?"

"Because he tricked my sister," Danny explained, frowning into Dash's eyes. "He got close to her, pretended to be her boyfriend, all so that he could come here and finish what he started with me."

"Oh god!" The exclamation drew everyone's attention onto Abner, who collapsed to his knees with a horrified look on his paling face. Danny could understand people being shocked by his news. He expected people to give him that look of pity and pat him or hug him and try to give him comforting words that it would be okay. He also had that fear of people turning away from him, abandoning him because of the violation that he suffered. That idea hurt him badly even though he hadn't known all his friends in Amity Park for very long. But Danny was shocked by Abner's reaction and that look on his face with tears gathering in his pained hazel eyes.

"Abner, uh," Johnny said awkwardly, placing a hand on the other man's shoulder. Even Kitty and Ember gazed sadly at the kneeling man. "He has this very distantly related-"

"Please don't hate me!" Abner shouted as he shot to his feet, rushing over to grab Danny by the arms. His eyes begged desperately for Danny not to hate him. "I should have said something before, but I was terrified after seeing him kill. I didn't want to go through what I saw him doing to that woman."

"Abner, what are you talking about?" Danny stared puzzled at the man before him.

His mouth trembled as he lowered his gaze. "I have a relative, a very, very distant cousin that's an incubus. And he's here in town right now." Abner fumbled in his pocket before pulling out a phone. After a moment, he turned the phone around to show Danny a picture on the screen. "Is that him?"

Danny stiffened at the sight of the long nosed man with too pale skin and brown eyes that held the slightest hint of red. He nodded, unable to speak as his throat constricted at the sight of the incubus' human guise.

"Stop showing that shit face to him!" Dan ordered angrily, shoving the phone back at Abner as he tried to block out the image from Danny's sight.

"Hey, you don't have to be a dick to him," Johnny snapped, holding onto Abner as he glared at Dan. "He feels bad enough already knowing that he's related to a piece of shit that hurt one of his friends. You don't need to make him feel even worse."

Danny nearly jumped when Dash put an arm around him before remembering that no one in the room was going to hurt him. He didn't expect to have the image of Frederich drive such fear into his heart. After that meeting in his bedroom when Frederich revealed himself, Danny thought maybe he was getting over his fear and panic about the incubus. But clearly his progress wasn't as far as he hoped. Only his desire to protect his sister overcame his fear in that moment.

"I don't hate you, Abner," Danny said in a shaky voice. "His actions don't reflect on you. I'm not going to blame you for what he did." Relief showed in Abner's eyes.

"If you did blame him, I'd have to kick you," Valerie said with her arms folded. "If I can make peace with a werewolf, you can make peace with him."

"The only one to blame is the shit head incubus," Danny said as firmly as he could. Dash's touch helped a little to drive away the panic from seeing Frederich again. When he was guided toward the sofa to sit with Dash and Dan on either side of him, Danny felt some of the tension melting out of him, and he relaxed back against the sofa cushions. Without Dash and Dan, Danny wasn't sure how he would deal with these panic attacks. They were his anchors and his comforts.


	43. Chapter 43

Danny seriously wanted to crawl into the ground and disappear for forever after walking out of the theater. For whatever reason, Paulina and Desiree decided to let the idea of the new script be a big surprise until he arrived at lunch that afternoon and Dora present them with her rewrite of the play. He was surprised that Dash received a script as well, though the blond man hardly seemed shocked. Danny glowered, realizing Dash could have easily picked up on the plan from the women's minds at any point while he was near them. That, or Paulina told him prior to their first day back at school after the winter break.

Huffing a sigh, Danny walked down the hallway with his shoulders drooping. He already didn't like the idea of playing the Prince in the play when he would have to dance _and_ kiss Desiree. Now he would have to do the same but with Dash instead. He didn't so much mind the idea of dancing and kissing Dash, if he could do so without panicking. But the thought of doing that in front of an entire audience froze him up inside. The rehearsal today after school didn't go any better than all the rehearsals prior to the winter break. He fumbled over his lines and tripped over props and set pieces. He, at least, didn't break anything this time.

"Danny," Desiree said as she caught his arm.

"Oh hey, Desiree." Danny paused to turn around and face her. They were the last two to leave the theater while Dora made them stay back to rehearse the scene where the Good Witch tried to help the visiting Prince of another kingdom catch the eye of the Prince that he fell in love with after a brief meeting earlier in the play. Later, Paulina's character the Wicked Witch would try to foul up his attempts to win the other Prince's heart and put him under a sleeping spell. Danny wondered how Dora managed to rewrite the script so quickly, and how Paulina and Desiree convinced her to change the script in the first place.

"Your guard dog isn't around?" Desiree glanced down the hallway and all around like she might catch a hint of the invisible shade.

"Dan went to have a chat with Masters," Danny explained with a shrug. "My parents are okay with him living in the house. We have room for him though he doesn't really need sleep. Not all that much anyway. But he still has a lot to learn about the world and everything, so he thought it would be good to start making those arrangements with Masters, maybe even get a job." Ever since the ritual, Danny could sometimes imagine Dan being an older brother.

"I'm surprised he would leave your side for even a moment. He seemed to keep very close to you yesterday." Desiree smiled half way as she pushed a lock of her long ebony hair behind an ear.

"Well, with all the protection that's setup around the school, it didn't seem necessary." Danny hugged his arms around his body. "That incubus certainly won't be able to get in here."

"I, uh," Desiree turned her gaze away as something flashed in her eyes, "wanted to talk about that with you."

Danny blinked in surprise at the tanned skinned woman. Desiree always appeared to have a strong personality, confident in her actions even when acting like a bitch toward men. It seemed a little weird to him to see her suddenly acting shy around him. He was used to being in the background while Desiree exchanged snarky insults with Dash. He didn't expect to have Desiree come up to him out of the blue.

"What was that?" At that voice, both of them turned, and Danny could understand the dread that flashed through Desiree's eyes when they saw Skulker approaching them. Danny scowled darkly at the alien, who wore a smirk when his green eyes glanced Danny's way.

"Skulker, you-"

"Silence, genie!" Skulker snapped as he loomed over her. "Or have you forgotten who has possession of your lamp?"

Desiree opened her mouth to argue the claim, but she stopped when she caught the quick shake of Danny's head. "Forgive me, Master," she said with the practiced ease of an actress slipping into any role given to her. She bowed her head to the alien, and Skulker bought the act.

Skulker clearly hadn't bothered to actually check on the lamp since the start of winter break if he still believed that the genie's lamp remained in his possession. Danny grinned internally at that fact. To keep Skulker completely unaware of that loss, Desiree still needed to pretend to be under his control, which unfortunately meant obeying his every command. But with her skills, she could play the role without Skulker knowing the wiser.

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Danny demanded, glaring at Skulker when the alien turned around to face him. "Or is it not enough for you to stalk after Kwan like a pathetic creep that you have to be shit headed jerk to Desiree?"

"So busy watching after the fox," Skulker moved forward, causing Danny to back up against the wall of lockers as the alien loomed closer, "that you forgot to watch your own back." He smirked at that sense of fear that flashed in Danny's bright blue eyes.

His breath caught as Danny wondered what exactly the alien meant by that comment because he surely couldn't have found out anything about his powers. He hadn't used his powers that often in a public place, and he doubted that Skulker was lurking around in the forest on the night of the solstice. If he had, Skulker would more likely have watched after Kwan than stayed to see what happened with Danny and Dash.

"You think your threats scare me?" Danny snorted, trying not to look frightened by the alien standing over him. "You can't do anything to any of us. Masters will know right away, and you'll get sentenced to further punishment. They might even lock you away so you'll never see the light of day again. And you can kiss adding Kwan to your collection goodbye." He narrowed his eyes, but the alien merely smirked at him.

"That vampire's protection won't last forever." Skulker moved before Danny had the time to react, the alien's hand reaching out quickly to seize hold of the raven haired man's throat. He didn't exert enough strength to cause any physical harm, but Danny tensed up all the same, panic flashing in his eyes as Skulker smirked at the feel of smooth, icy flesh beneath his hand. Behind the alien, Desiree was clearly struggling to keep with the ruse of being under Skulker's control and doing something to save Danny. "Now," Skulker rubbed his thumb unpleasantly over his captive's throat, "explain to me what this talk of an incubus is about. I'm quite curious."

Danny gulped, the action causing his Adam's apple to bob against Skulker's hand. The alien clearly knew something about him, though Danny still couldn't figure out when Skulker could have learned anything about his abilities. His heart beat a touch faster as Danny stared into those green eyes, eyes that he could now see weren't normal with them hovering far too closely to his face. If he squinted just right, he could make out the circuitry within the irises, giving away that Skulker was no mere human to anyone that looked into them. Part of his mind wondered distantly if any of the normal humans at the high school had noticed that unusual fact about him. They would probably pass it off as a trick of the light, their brains imagining something that wasn't really there. That was how most people treated the supernatural, unable to believe in it.

"Why do you care anything about an incubus?" Danny asked, unable to hide the hint of nervousness that fluttered through his voice as he wondered how much of his conversation with Desiree the alien actually heard. "Isn't that a little too common for your interest?"

"I'm more interested in why you need protection from an incubus." Skulker squeezed his hand a little tighter around Danny's neck, adding only a touch of pressure but not enough that it would alert the principal that one of his students was injured.

Something in the alien's eyes told Danny that Skulker was already plotting a violent end to the incubus that wanted to lay a hand on his property. At that thought, Danny felt sick, not wanting anyone to think of him as property. While Dan and Dash were overly protective of him and butted heads with each other over him, they didn't treat him like an object that belonged to them. Over Skulker's shoulder, Danny could see Desiree with disgust in her eyes at Skulker.

"That's hardly any of your business." Danny pried the hand away from his throat. "Why don't you go be creepy somewhere else?"

Skulker snorted as he leaned back, putting only a small amount of distance between them. "You can act big and tough all you like, but I can see," he tapped his temple near his eye, "every little nervous tick and raise in your heartbeat. You're scared. Every time that word, incubus, is mentioned." He grinned. "Ah, there it is. That little flutter that indicates just how terrified you are. You might trick human eyes, but my eyes are a little harder to lie to."

"What do you want, Skulker?" Danny ground his teeth, trying his hardest not to give his emotions away to the alien, though that seemed impossible with the unusualness of Skulker's eyes. "I have homework I need to get done and lines to memorize for the play. I don't have time to do this stupid cryptic dance with you."

Skulker shook his head. "You can't really be that thick headed, can you?" He smirked in amusement at the glare he received, hardly feel threatened by Danny's scowl. "I already told you. I want to know this incubus' interest in you." His green eyes narrowed, probably watching for any hint in Danny's body language that his response would be a lie. "I don't like others getting close to my prey. But I'm sure you know that already."

Danny did know that. He could see it in the anger Skulker displayed when Wulf blocked his attempts to be near Kwan. "Well, you can forget it. I'm not telling you anything." He folded his arms, his jaw set firmly in his determination not to tell the alien about the incubus. "So you can just walk away now and leave me alone."

"You're forgetting something." Skulker walked over to where Desiree remained standing and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I have a way to make you talk. All I have to do is make a wish, and Desiree will be forced to grant it. Then you'll be forced to answer my question. So the question now is: are you going to tell me willingly or do I have to make a wish?"

Danny could see the panic in Desiree's eyes as Skulker stood behind her with a devilish smirk on his face. "Leave Desiree out of this," he said, heaving a sigh as he looked away from the alien. "It's not really any of your business, but if you're going to be a persistent ass." He folded his arms, gripping his biceps tightly in his anger.

Skulker was the last one that Danny wanted to reveal this information to, but if the alien wouldn't leave him alone until he heard the truth, Danny didn't see a way out of it. He didn't want to do anything that might cause harm to Desiree, and he doubted Skulker would take it well when he realized he lost his control over the genie. Perhaps the excuse to lash out angrily was exactly what they needed to get Skulker out of the way and forced into a stricter punishment, but Danny would rather have Skulker punched him than hurt Desiree.

"The incubus is after me because I got away from him before," Danny explained, turning a sour glare onto Skulker. "It had me and raped me but was stopped before it could finish me off. Once it learned I was still alive, it decided to come back and finish what it started with me. Happy now?"

"Hardly," Skulker growled furiously. "That pathetic excuse of a life form won't get another chance to lay its hands on my prey again."

If Dash or Dan were the one threatening injury to the incubus, Danny would have felt safe and comforted, but hearing those words from the alien didn't sit well with him. "I'm not your _anything_." His hands tightened even more around his arms as he resisted the urge to scream out or even punch Skulker. If the incubus never touched him in the first place, then the alien would have no reason to take interest in him. Danny would simply be another average human with nothing special about him. Gaining Skulker's attention was simply another reason to hate that incubus.

"Not yet," Skulker agreed with anger in his expression before he smirked in a way that chilled Danny. "But come graduation, you will be mine. Just like Kwan." He walked back over to Danny, leaning in far too closely again. "It doesn't matter what freaky powers you have. I never give up on a hunt." He patted a hand on Danny's shoulder, making the raven haired man flinch at the touch. With an eerie chuckle, Skulker walked down the hallway, leaving the two of them alone again.

"Danny, I-" Desiree frowned, lost for words after the encounter with Skulker.

Danny shook his head. "You don't have to feel guilty about anything." He raked a hand through his raven locks. "But how the hell did he find out about me? It's not like I ran around screaming to the world about my powers. I'm not an idiot."

"Skulker is a devious bastard." Desiree approached him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "He finds things out even if you think you'll hiding it well."

Danny groaned in frustration as he ran his hands over his face. "This is so not good," he mumbled into his hands. "We really need to figure out a way to deal with Skulker." Graduation wasn't for another few months, but every day that passed without a plan in the works was another day closer to Skulker being able to freely hunt them, killing off anyone that got in his way without it affecting his punishment. Their best chance to deal with Skulker would be before graduation. "Great," he muttered grumpily as he folded his arms. "First the incubus. Now Skulker." He blinked then glanced over to Desiree. "Oh yeah. You had something you wanted to talk about?"

Desiree glanced around the hallway. When she saw no one else that might interrupt them, she leaned against the lockers, standing next to Danny. "It didn't seem like the best time to talk about this yesterday with everyone else around." She hugged her arms around her body, and she had that closed off look that Danny mirrored often in the past eight months. "I talked with Paulina a little bit about the abuse I suffered at the hands of my previous masters. Some of them were satisfied simply slapping me around if I did even the slightest thing wrong. But many others-" She shook her head. "Well, just look at me." She pulled a hand a way to gesture up and down her body from pretty face to curvy body. "Young and beautiful. Of course, I can make myself look any age. But why look like an ancient hag when I can be young? The only reason I'm here attending high school is because genies don't really get a lot of education locked up in their lamps all the time." She paused to take a breath, and Danny waited patiently for her to continue. "Genies are slaves to their masters, so when my masters wanted," she swallowed thickly, "I didn't have a choice but to comply and let them," she struggled for a moment, "rape me." She reached up and wiped at her eyes, trying to clear away any evidence of tears.

"I know I can't say anything that helps to take away the pain," Danny said, his heart aching for the woman beside him. "But I'm so sorry you had such assholes for your masters." He could see now why the genie would harbor such anger toward the opposite gender.

"You and me both." Desiree laughed bitterly. "I just-" She shrugged awkwardly. "I wanted you to know that you're not completely alone. I wish I could tell you it gets easier, and one day you'll wake up, it'll no longer haunt you. You won't have nightmares of the person that violated you. You won't get jumpy when someone tries to touch you. The idea of having sex with someone you really, really like won't completely terrify you because you remember how you've been hurt in the past. I really wish all that was true. But it's not."

"Yeah," Danny agreed sadly. "I always kind of knew that, but I really want to get past this rape. I really like Dash, and I want to be with him. But this rape is always going be there hanging over me." He glanced at Desiree. "But you're always draping yourself over Paulina."

"I'm an actress," Desiree reminded with a grin. "I've gotten used to physical contact again since being here. I don't get freaked out hugging someone and kissing isn't too terrifying. But going beyond that is too overwhelming for me. I'm not sure I could ever be intimate with Paulina. Even if I want to."

"I may not know her all that well, but Paulina doesn't strike me as being in any great rush to have sex," Danny said, trying to phrase it delicately, but he was fairly certain he failed. He winced when Desiree looked up at him. "I just mean, don't worry so much about rushing yourself to be ready for sex. Paulina's not like your past masters. I'm sure she'll understand and wait for when you're ready. Just take things slow. That's what I'm doing with Dash."

Desiree nodded. "I guess I'm still not all that used to not being completely surrounded by abusive, demanding assholes." She laughed lightly as she shook her head. "And I certainly never imagined that I could talk about this with a man. Or that there would be one that isn't a total dick."

"Hey, we're not all abusive, demanding assholes," Danny protested.

"Yeah, I guess some of you are all right." Desiree pushed away from the lockers and grinned at Danny. "Even your lover boy isn't totally bad, but he's fun to tease."

Danny flushed at the term, remembering Dan using it often since their deal was struck. "Just don't tease him too much," he mumbled as they walked down the hallway together, heading for the exit to the parking lot.


	44. Chapter 44

"You seem to have settled in nicely with Daniel's family," Vlad said as he watched the anxious shade sitting in one of the chairs before his desk.

"They've even set up a room for me," Dan agreed with boredom in his voice, drumming the fingers of his right hand on the armrest. He wanted to get back to Danny. Even if the protection around the high school would keep him safe from being attacked by the incubus, the play rehearsal was nearly over, and Dan wanted to return to Danny's side before he left the school.

Dan didn't require sleep, not as much as a normal human anyway, so having his own bedroom was fairly unnecessary. At night, he spent his time watching over Danny in his sleep. He was aware that might make him seem like some sort of creeper, but he couldn't sit idly by when he saw Danny tossing and turning as a nightmare seized hold of his dreams. He wanted to be there to offer comfort to Danny at those times. When he existed inside of Danny before, Dan was unable to provide any comfort, even if he wanted to at that time.

"I'm glad they've accepted you so well into the family." Vlad actually smiled, perhaps relieved that there was a constant guardian to watch over Danny while the incubus remained at large.

"Well, the constant questions can be a little annoying." Dan shrugged as he looked around the office. It was kept dark despite that the protection barrier would keep the vampire safe from bursting into flames the moment sunlight touched him, but Dan guessed maybe Vlad was simply used to darkened spaces. Maybe vampires suffered from sensitive eyes and exposure to too much light hurt them. "But they seem happy having another person in the house."

"I thought we should discuss job options for you," Vlad continued, nodding to Dan's comments. "I know it may seem a little unnecessary for you, being what you are. I realize that they don't require as much food and sleep as a normal human to survive nor do you necessarily need to purchase clothing." His dark blue eyes travelled over Dan's body, dressed in jeans and a well fitted long sleeved black shirt.

"I seem to be able to alter my clothes slightly when I adopt this look." Dan entered the office in his human guise, a precaution in case someone decided to barge into the office unannounced. The secretary outside the office was supposed to stop anyone from doing so, but she couldn't be expected to stop a big man determined to speak with the principal right away.

Vlad nodded yet again to the comment. "Having a job, however, will be good experience for you. It will teach you something of the way of this world. You can't forever live at Danny's side like a shadow. I know you care a great deal for him and wish to keep him safe. A fact that I'm grateful for. But constant involvement in his life might put a strain on his relationship. He'll want his space from time to time, and I advise you to obey him if he tells you to leave him alone."

Dan narrowed his dark blue eyes at Vlad, not very happy with the idea of being forced to put space between him and Danny when he was supposed to protect the young man. But he could understand the vampire's advice. Dan certainly didn't want to do something that would drive a wedge between him and Danny. If backing off from time to time so that Danny could be alone was necessary, then Dan would have to suck up his pride and do just that.

"It may not be the most glorious of jobs," Vlad continued, ignoring the glare he received from the shade, "but if you accept a position here as a janitor, you could still be close to Daniel. It would give you some opportunity to watch over him, though it may be best not to make yourself too obvious. While Daniel may be fine explaining his situation with you to his friends, I doubt he would want the whole school knowing of your connection." A smirk tugged at his mouth. "Though the two of you do look like you could pass for brothers."

His mouth pulled downward at that last comment. Dan resisted the urge to punch at something every time someone mentioned that he and Danny looked like brothers. Controlling that desire wasn't exactly easy. Dan didn't build up his strength during his time in the dark realm simply to sit idly back and twiddle his thumbs. He wanted action after all that time floating in the darkness. If not for his desperate wish to escape the dark realm, Dan might have been tempted to attack Danny's soul the moment it appeared there. But he would have lost his chance to exist outside the darkness if he did that. He wouldn't be able to sit in this office right now with a body of his own and a purpose to his life. Perhaps Danny's comment about violence not always being the best first move held true. Finding another way to deal with a problem could produce far better, if completely unexpected, results.

"I suppose that's acceptable," Dan mumbled, though being a janitor didn't sound like a great career choice. It would, as Vlad pointed out, at least give him the excuse to stay near Danny while he was at school. He could always simply stay at Danny's side invisibly, but as Vlad advised, giving Danny time during the day where he could be alone without Dan was probably a wise move. Dan smirked to himself, thinking of how fun it was to pester Danny when reacting would only embarrass the young man.

"Excellent. I can make all the necessary arrangements for your employment here." Vlad smirked with an expression that made him seem like a villain. "Of course, some of the facts will need a little fudging, but that won't be too big of a problem. We tend to do things like this a lot when the supernatural is involved. Would you like to use the surname Fenton? I doubt they would object to it. You being accepted so nicely into the family and all."

"I suppose that makes the most sense," Dan agreed with a shrug. "That was all then?" He raised a curious eyebrow at the vampire seated before him.

Vlad nodded as he reached into a drawer to gather some papers, probably to start the process for hiring Dan as a janitor at the high school. "Yes, I wouldn't want to keep you away from Daniel for too long." He lifted his gaze, and that half smirk appeared on his face again. "Since he's very dear to you."

"Of course he is." Dan glared sourly at the vampire as he stood from his seat. Even if they didn't share the bond between them from being in the dark realm together and making the exchange during the ritual, he still would care a great deal for Danny, who was the only person that would ever think to give a shade the chance to live.

Dan reached the door to the office before he paused, his hand almost wrapping around the doorknob. Turning back, he frowned at the vampire, who busily filled out the information on a sheet of paper. A few moments passed before Vlad lifted his head with annoyance in his dark blue eyes as he stared at the shade still in his office.

"Did you need something else?" Vlad asked as he rested his arms on his desk. "I know it might not seem like I have a difficult job, but as principal, there are a lot of things that I must oversee. I have papers to sign and forms to fill out. I have to go check in with my staff and discuss any problem students. And that's only a small portion of what I do here."

Dan bristled as he glared at the vampire. "I'm sorry to take up too much of your time," he muttered as he walked over to stand before the desk. "But as I understand it, the incubus isn't the only threat to be concerned about." Dan folded his arms as he frowned. Danny's words about violence twisting in his head again. "Stalker wants Danny along with that fox. And as I understand it with his whole hunting the rare and unique, that puts me on the list of those he'll want for his collection as well." 

"I believe you mean Skulker," Vlad said as his mouth tugged downward, a serious expression spreading over his face. "Yes, he remains a threat, but our hands are tied to do anything against him. We touch him, and we start a war with the planet of Cyonetic. Unless he does something to break the oath or break some other intergalatic law, we can only sit by idly and wait."

"Forgive me if that doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence." Dan sneered at the vampire. He didn't like it, but he understood. Vlad worked for the council. He had a whole school, probably even the entire town, under his watch. He couldn't simply break the rules to save two students and cause a war on the planet. It was a delicate situation that needed an equally delicate plan. "Even if you shoot him off into space after his sentence is up, what's to stop him from coming right back here to hunt down Danny and the fox? They'll have graduated and moved onto college. They'll be out of your protection, and you'll have no way to keep watch on them. Simply waiting for him to leave isn't a good enough plan."

"And you have some stroke of genius for what to do in this situation?" Vlad stared curiously at the shade, probably interested in any idea, no matter how silly, at this point. "Going around beating up Skulker won't help anything."

"Yeah, I know. I like violence." Dan folded his arms as he glared at the vampire. "I spent god only knows how long in that forsaken dark realm. Being alone in such a cold, dark place tends to drive a person crazy. And in my case, it made me prone to violence. I spent my existence doing nothing but building my strength so that when I finally had the chance to get out of there, I would be able to seize control and exist here regardless of what happened to the host's soul."

"It is good to see that your violent tendencies don't rule your every action." Vlad frowned, though the curiosity remained in his eyes. "But what has that do with Skulker?"

Dan took a deep breath to keep himself calm. He could understand now why Danny would give him glares if he interrupted the man's explanation about something. It was rather annoying to have someone cut in when he was trying to talk, and it made him lose his train of thought. He concentrated for a moment, trying to recall what he wanted to say.

"If I learned anything from Danny so far, it's that violence shouldn't always be our first response to a threat," Dan said, taking notice of the lift of one silver eyebrow from Vlad. "Yeah, words probably aren't going to work against Skulker. He's got a one track mind, and that one track is stuck on wanting to take the fox and Danny off this planet with him and put them up on a pedestal or mounted to a wall or whatever he does to the things in his collection."

"No," Vlad agreed grimly, "talking with Skulker will probably accomplish nothing. He's a cocky bastard that thinks we have no chance at beating him in this game he's playing."

"Well, that'll be his downfall then, won't it?" Dan smirked, widely and confidently. "From what I understand, Skulker is some sort of cybernetic humanoid. He can manipulate his body into robotic like parts. Plasma ray guns out of his arms and such."

Vlad nodded as he laced his fingers before him, leaning his face against the joined hands. "Yes. I've never seen him do it, but the council was given information about what the alien race of Cyonetic is capable of. I doubt we were given a full list of everything he can do, but we have a basic idea of his skills."

"I know I'm a little new to this world." Dan rolled his blue eyes. "But cybernetic would mean some sort of technology, correct?"

"I do believe so, yes," Vlad agreed with a raise of his brow, interest playing in his dark blue eyes at where the shade would take this train of thought.

"So if he's made up of technology, then could it be possible that he's programmed to act in a certain manner?"

Vlad opened his mouth to respond then blinked in surprise at the question posed to him. "Excuse me for a moment." The vampire stood up and left the office.

Dan turned to stare at the door as he leaned back against the principal's desk. Folding his arms, he waited for the man to return and wondered where Vlad disappeared to. He thought his question was quite simple and the answer wouldn't be a difficult one to give. Several long, irritating moments passed before Vlad returned to the office with another man in tow. Dan raised an eyebrow at the second man with his wild white hair drawn back in a ponytail and a lab coat hanging to his knees.

"What do you want?" the man demanded, sounding like he was in no mood to deal with the principal. "I was so close to winning that time!"

"Nicolai Technus, this is Dan," Vlad introduced, gesturing to the shade at his desk. Dan grinned as he raised a hand to wave at the other man.

"And we're making introductions for what reason?" Technus asked with a frown, not all that interested in meeting the shade.

"Dan brought up an interesting idea," Vlad explained as he walked over to stand next to Dan and leaned against his desk as well. "As our resident technopath, you seemed like the one to ask. If we run with the assumption that Skulker, being a cybernetic alien race, has a technological makeup, could that perhaps mean that he has some sort of mental programming?"

"Hm," Technus responded thoughtfully with a hand to his chin as he considered the possibility. "I would need to tap into him and see how he works. It's possible that your idea is correct. If he does have some sort of mental programming, like say," he shrugged his shoulders, "being a hunter, it's possible that once I've accessed his mental programming that I could reboot it with a new programming. It won't be as simple as it sounds. I would need some time once I'm in there to be successful."

"I don't think he needs an entire reboot though," Dan said, turning over the thoughts in his mind. "He can keep his hunter mentality. We don't want to create any wars by sending him back with a completely different personality. However, maybe you could rewrite it a little so that humanoid beings are no longer something that he hunts. That would eliminate his desire to return here to hunt down Danny and the fox."

A smirk twisted upon Vlad's face. "You have quite the clever mind."

"And only tampering slightly with his mental programming shouldn't break any intergalatic laws," Technus agreed. "Skulker has been isolated, unable to make contact with his home planet while living here under his punishment. No one on Cyonetic would know of his interest in Kwan, and apparently Danny now too." He gave a curious look at that fact, and Vlad nodded the truth of it. "Walker would probably know of it, but being from the planet Necravion who sentenced Skulker to his punishment in the first place, I doubt he would argue or make mention of it if he noticed the subtle change in Skulker."

"I guess we finally have a plan for dealing with Skulker," Vlad announced with a smug smirk of someone playing chess that knew they would win in five moves no matter how his opponent tried to out think him. "Technus, get started on trying to alter Skulker's mental programming. I want him eliminated as a threat to my students as quickly as possible." He turned to Dan. "And I must offer you my thanks and gratitude for devising this little plan."

Dan grinned with a small bow of his head. "Anything to keep Danny safe."


	45. Chapter 45

The days, more than a week, following his return were filled with frustrated pacing around the room. Lydia followed his movements, her red eyes watching closely to the way his hands twitched and flailed while he ranted his irritation at the slow progress inside his head. She didn't need to hear the words out loud to know what was going on in his mind. Dozens of times over the past six months, she watched him doing the very same thing, but most of those times, it was about the being forced to act like a good, caring boyfriend to that too nice, know-it-all that Freakshow grew to hate with every passing day when he had to go meet with her. If her brother wasn't still alive after Freakshow targeted him, Jazz would be dead now too.

Lydia considered that point as she lowered her gaze to the thick, dusty tome in her lap as she sat cross legged on the bed in the corner of the room. If Freakshow fed on Jazz that time when he first met her in the bookstore, Lydia wondered if she ever would have met him. The only reason they met was because Freakshow was resisting his desire to feed on Jazz because of her alluring scent, which drove him to seek out others to feast upon their energies.

Lydia recalled that first meeting with a ghost of a smile. When it came to walking down dark, dangerous parts of towns alone at night, she didn't fear people sneaking up on her. She learned of her magic years ago when she turned twelve. Her mother was terrified the first time she came into the room and found Lydia levitating a few feet off the floor with the furniture floating all around her. Her mother thought she was possessed by some wicked spirit, but her father knew better. He had magic too, though he kept it quiet from his wife up to that point. Lydia wondered if her father ever would have told her mother about being a witch if she hadn't seen that display of magic.

Her father never wanted her to have magic. Lydia realized that soon after the levitation event. He tried to slip her a binding potion that would lock away her magic inside her so that she would never be able to access it again for the rest of her life. What he didn't count on was that Lydia could tell the drink he gave her was more than simply fruit juice. That was the first moment she started to walk down the path to dark magic. Her very first act as a witch of darkness was reaching into her father's chest, gripping his heart in her hand and twisting his will to become her puppet. Her magic was stronger than her father's magic. It overwhelmed him, and he was powerless to fight against her. She did the same thing to her mother later, using them as complacent puppets that bowed to her will. Thinking back on that, she wasn't even sure what happened to them when she finally left home at seventeen. Perhaps they remained where she left them, sitting on the couch in the front room as empty shells, unable to think or move on their own anymore.

Her magic only grew stronger after making puppets out of her parents. School held no meaning to her, and she spent the majority of her time researching into magic, learning more about the dark arts and the things she could do with her power. She learned the secrets of tattooing her skin with living ink that could come alive and follow her commands. By the time she was twenty, her body below the neck was covered in her precious tattoo familiars. The greenish hue that her skinned turned the more she used her magic for dark purposes was unexpected, but it didn't entirely bother her. Freakshow seemed to like the odd coloring quite well when he gave her any attention between moments of irritation and frustration as he waited his chance to feed once more on that child that escaped death, the only one of his victims that remained alive to tell of the incubus' existence.

When Freakshow swooped in that first time, Lydia was hardly scared of the incubus. By that time, killing wasn't a foreign concept to her. Some of her spells and potions required things like a fresh heart or eyeball, sometimes a kidney or other internal organs. An incubus hardly seemed like a challenge to her. She didn't expect to actually fall in love with him after that first night. She didn't even think she was capable of that emotion or that she could devote her life to someone else. It was always only her, always doing things for her own purpose, her own power, always selfish until Freakshow appeared in her life.

Something dropped onto the book in her lap before the tattoo returned to its place on her right shoulder. Lydia grinned as she picked up the corked vial and held it up to stare at the lock of raven hair within it. Closing the book and tossing it aside onto the bed, she stood and walked over to a smaller cauldron she set up earlier. She didn't need the larger cauldron for the potion she started brewing. This cauldron could fit nicely over the burner on a stove, if the building possessed a stove. Instead it sat on a small fire several feet away from the larger cauldron. Crouching down before it, she yanked the cork from the vial and dumped the lock of hair into the mixture already within the cauldron.

"What foul concoction are you making now?" Freakshow demanded after taking notice of Lydia's movements. He stared down at the bubbling goop inside the cauldron as the witch stirred it, mixing the hair into the potion.

Lydia grinned as she lifted her gaze to him. "I told you to leave the shade to me." Scooping up some of potion, she poured into a glass that she had set beside the cauldron for when the potion was complete. "The shade is protective of this Danny boy. What better way to draw him out than to appear as Danny?" She drank the icy blue goop still bubbling somewhat within the glass, swallowing all of it in on gulp. "Ugh!" She shuddered after she finished off the potion. "That could have been a lot worse."

Lydia made the potion before in the past, and the taste changed depending on the hair that was used. One time when she made the potion, it tasted like molded garbage and seaweed. The effects of the potion were even less fun than the taste. She pressed the back of her right hand against her mouth, wrapping her other arm around her waist as she resisted the urge to throw up while her body changed. The green faded from her body, leaving behind pale flesh, and her tattoos faded from sight. A messy mop of raven hair sprouted from her head, and her eyes lost their red gleam to be replaced by brilliant blue. Lydia almost dropped to her knees as her body changed, but Freakshow caught her, holding her trembling body close to him.

"Lydia!" Freakshow shouted with real concern in his voice. He never saw her use this potion before and understandably had no idea of the effect it had on her. When she lifted her head, Freakshow couldn't speak, his reddish brown eyes of his human guise widening at what he saw.

"A perfect copy," Lydia said as she pulled out of Freakshow's hold.

"Your scent doesn't match his." But Freakshow looked impressed by the transformation from Lydia into a Danny lookalike. "But how does taking his appearance help us? If the shade is always around him, you won't be able to fool him."

"But that's where you're wrong." Lydia crossed the room, her usual attire not fitting so well on the man's lean muscled body. She opened the doors of the wardrobe against the wall near the bed. She didn't own anything that matched what Danny wore, but with a little magic, she altered the clothing she did have to match.

"Care to clue me in on your plan here?" Freakshow joined her at the wardrobe, leaning against the side of it as he watched her change clothes.

Lydia narrowed her eyes at that, wondering if Freakshow enjoyed the sight of Danny's body more than her natural body. "The shade doesn't stick by Danny all the time," she explained as she rolled up the long sleeves of the shirt she wore. It was uncomfortable wearing clothes that covered so much of her body. She was used to clothes that showed off more of her body. "Your play toy is protected by the barrier around the high school. The shade accompanies him most of the way to the high school. Then sometime after school lets out, the shade leaves alone, and Danny goes home much later with some friends." She stepped closer to Freakshow, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I could catch the shade after school when he's alone."

"And then what?" Freakshow showed concern for her in his reddish brown eyes. He brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. "If he catches onto your deceit, what will you do? How do you plan to eliminate him as an obstacle?"

"I've been concocting a little potion to deal with the shade," Lydia explained as she walked over to the larger cauldron. After incubus returned to their hideout, she dumped the old potion that stewed in the cauldron for several days and got to work on a new potion, one that she believed would bring down the shade. "It's a little thing that's usually used on lingering spirits that people wish to be rid of. A shade is a little different, so I made some alterations to it that should make it more effective against the shade. Pretty soon, he won't be standing in your way."

"I love the way your mind works." Freakshow stood before her, holding her face in his hands with a grin twisting onto his face. "So beautiful and delightfully wicked." He bent down, angling his head just right so that his long nose didn't interfere when he kissed her tenderly. Lydia leaned into the kiss, savoring the feel his lips against her own as Freakshow slipped his hands under her shirt, enjoying the feel of smooth flesh.

"I should probably leave now," Lydia mumbled against his mouth, though the idea of staying here in Freakshow's arms seemed far more appealing. "School should be getting out soon, and I want to get there in time to catch the shade as he leaves." She still couldn't puzzle out how he managed to achieve a human appearance, manifest a form visible to anyone when shades generally were unseen. There were stories told of shades existing in other dimensions, trapped there but could be pulled out of there, freed by an unwary soul that the shade would then be linked to, but she never heard of such a thing actually happening. It was a rare event, and most text about shades were from ancient times. But her potion should still work all the same against him.

"Then we can pick this up once the shade is dead." Freakshow kissed her again before releasing his hold on her.

"You make it so difficult to leave." Lydia ran her hand over his cheek, tempted to stay, but she had a task to complete for her love. "In no time, that shade will be completely forgotten." She retrieved a vial and filled it with the potion from the larger cauldron. "Then the real Danny will be all yours for the taking." She resisted the urge to give Freakshow another kiss, knowing that would only tempt her more into staying there with him. At the door, she offered him only a hint of a smile before she left to head for Casper High.

Her hand wrapped tightly around the vial that she tucked away into the pocket of the jeans she wore. So close. Once Danny was dead for real and Jazz was taken care of, Freakshow's obsession with the siblings would be over, and he could focus his attention all on her. She was so close to having Freakshow all to herself, and killing off the shade was the first step to achieving that goal.

The high school loomed before her after close to half an hour of walking from their hideout. Students were already filing out of the building, heading for the parking lot to drive home or catch a ride on the school bus while some walked away. She looked around but didn't see the shade, who tended to stand out among the students with his height and build. Checking the time, she noted that school only ended about ten minutes before her arrival. The shade would still be within the school for quite some time, leaving her to wait until he finished with whatever business he did at the school.

She lingered outside the school as the flood of students dispersed, trickling down until she stood there alone. From what she learned from her tattoo familiars that kept watch over Danny and his muscle bound protector, the shade always left out the front exit of the school. Unfortunately their time inside the high school and inside their house went unknown because her tattoo familiars couldn't get past the protection barriers around them. Whatever witch placed the barriers on those two locations was a very strong one. Lydia clenched her jaw in frustration. The witch was stronger than she was, and she didn't like that.

Impatience was stirring inside her the longer she waited for the shade to show himself. Her potion wasn't long lasting. After a few hours, she would revert to her natural appearance, and already an hour of that time passed. It would be terrible luck to run into the shade mere moments before the potion's effects ran out. When the front door opened, Lydia became more alert, thoughts of how the conversation would go running through her mind. She was ready to call out to the shade, draw his attention to her until she saw the man that stepped out of the building. She didn't recognize him with his green eyes and muscular form draped in a lettermen jacket. She sneered at the sight of it, hating the popular jocks of school. Her weirdness, even before her magic, made her a target of teasing. Friends weren't something she came by easily.

Ignoring the jock, she returned her attention to waiting and watching for the shade, wondering what was taking him so long to make his appearance. The man, apparently, didn't enjoy being ignored by anyone. In a few quick strides, he appeared before her, standing a few inches taller with a malicious gleam in his eyes. Lydia ignored the man's unwanted attention as she folded her arms and stared past him toward the school.

"Skipping out on the play rehearsals?" The man seemed amused by his inquiry.

Lydia's brow wrinkled only slightly at the question, guessing that was the reason for Danny lingered after school for more than an hour or two. "Get lost," she ordered, in no mood to deal with a bully. She had no reason to fear him. With her magic, she could turn him inside out with the snap of her fingers. No one was around to witness it, not that it mattered much when she wore another person's appearance, and no evidence would be found to lead back to her.

His green eyes narrowed a fraction at her words, the amusement dying from his face. He clearly didn't approve of being talked to in such a manner. "That protection only lasts for so long. We're getting closer to the day when the vampire won't have your back."

That comment baffled her. Tearing her gaze away from the doors to the school, she frowned at the man as her brow knitted. "What vampire?" She wondered now what other important details of Danny's life they were ignorant of when she heard that a vampire was protecting him. But a vampire hardly seemed like the best guardian since it was completely useless while the sun remained in the sky.

The hand snatched out before she could react, lost in her thoughts the way that she was. Lydia gasped as the hand caught her throat, squeezing only enough to make it difficult for her to speak. Casting spells that required a vocal incantation was out, but she had plenty of other tricks up her sleeves.

"If you're going to imitate someone," the man said in a low threatening voice as he drew her closer to him, "then I suggest you do better research. A cheap copy will never trick someone that knows him well."

Lydia narrowed her eyes at him as she gripped his arm tightly with her hands, casting a spell to burn his flesh clean to the bone. The man laughed, surprising Lydia to his response until she realized the reason for his amusement. Her spell worked in melting away flesh, but bone wasn't left behind like she expected. She stared in alarm at the strange mechanical limb holding her throat. What was Danny involved with at this school? She knew that Amity Park was a hub for supernatural beings to co-exist with humans and that the council had members in the town to ensure the safety of both the supernatural and normal humans. But this cyborg, or whatever he was, certainly wasn't something she ever encountered in her travels.

"I don't know why you chose to impersonate Danny of all people, but I'm sure Principal Masters would be eager to make your acquaintance." The man changed his hold on her, twisting her around with her arms pinned behind her back as he pushed her along toward the entrance of the school.

"I could rip your heart out in seconds," Lydia threatened, struggling against his hold.

"Try it." The man snorted. "I don't have a heart."

When they reached the barrier, they met with resistance. Or at least, Lydia did. The protection on the school refused to allow her entrance into the building where she could harm the students that attended the high school. Lydia ground her teeth in frustration as she searched for a spell that would work well against the man. Her threat of ripping out his heart was empty since she would need use of her hands to do it.

"It seems you're not a student of this school." The man's grip tightened painfully on her hands. "But lucky for you, if I were to kill you, my sentence here would be prolonged or I would be given an even worse punishment. I'd really prefer for that not to happen. So for now," something pressed against the back of her neck, "I think it's best for you to sleep." 

A sharp needle pierced through her flesh, and her eyelids began feeling heavy. Lydia fought to stay conscious, cast some sort of spell to keep her senses alert, but whatever was injected into her was fast working. In moments, her body fell limp as her conscious mind slipped into darkness.


	46. Chapter 46

Lancer left the teacher's lounge with a half smirk on his face as Technus wailed over being defeated again. It never got tiring tripping up the computer science teacher's attempt to achieve victory in the game. For a master of science and technology, Technus failed at the online game, which only amused Lancer even more. They were rivals in the game ever since it first went live, yet Technus remained completely oblivious of whom was behind the character that kept standing in his way. Some of the other teachers were aware of this rival, though they all kept silent, also taking amusement in the fact that Technus didn't realize he was fighting against Lancer all the time.

Heading down the hallway, his amusement faded when Lancer spotted the dreaded form of Walker approaching him. None of the teachers liked the Warden's presence in the high school. Walker didn't talk much to them, but he often rattled off rules and regulations whenever he opened his mouth, his hollow eyes glaring at everyone that even thought about breaking the rules. Technus was truly lucky that Walker never learned that the teacher had the online game installed on the school computer and played it during breaks and after school if he wasn't on his laptop.

"Your presence is required at the front entrance," Walker announced in a no nonsense manner when he halted in front of the witch.

"My presence is required?" Lancer's brow drew together in confusion as he frowned the skeletal being disguised as a human. "What exactly is this about?"

"Skulker found someone loitering outside the school and thought it wise to bring that person to see Masters but was unable to bring the person through the barrier," Walker explained, already leading the way toward the entrance of the school.

That explanation didn't lessen Lancer's confusion even slightly as he tried to comprehend the alien's motive in wanting to bring some unknown person into the high school. Skulker didn't exactly have a lot of reasons to come to Lancer or Vlad for help. In fact, Lancer was fairly certain the alien would never ask for their assistance in a problem, and the only thing stopping Skulker from physical harm toward someone would probably be out of fear that he would receive an additional sentence to his punishment. That was the only thing keeping Skulker in line at the moment.

Lancer glanced toward Walker, recalling the first time he encountered the skeletal being when Skulker was brought to them. It was strange to watch a living skeleton move about with nothing covering its bones except the white suit and matching hat. Flesh, muscle, internal organs were all lacking on the being beside him. Walker only maintained the appearance of being human because of a glamour that Lancer placed on him after all the arrangements involving Skulker's sentencing were made.

"The people of your planet aren't exactly happy with Skulker, correct?" Lancer asked as they neared the entrance of the high school.

"He sought to steal a precious royal family treasure. We hold no goodwill toward Skulker or his home planet." Walker spoke tight lipped, if he had real lips, as anger flickered in the sunken hollow of his eyes. The glamour gave him the appearance of having eyeballs, but there was an emptiness in them except during rare moments when emotion managed to show.

"Our students maybe not be at the same level of importance as the treasure of your planet, but we value their well being a great deal. We wouldn't want Skulker sailing away with our students any more than you wanted him to take a precious treasure from your planet." Lancer halted a few feet from the front entrance, and Walker paused as well. "And with them being living beings, there's also a fear of what Skulker might do with them in his possession once he's returned to his home planet."

Walker frowned at the witch as his brow drew together in thought. "My people do not have this concept that your people call rape. We don't engage in such activities."

Considering Walker was a being made up solely of bones, Lancer couldn't even imagine how sex would work among the people of Necravion. He couldn't even be certain that experienced things like love. How they bred was a complete mystery to him, but Lancer decided he probably didn't want an explanation of the process.

"However, the victim apparently suffers aftereffects from the violation of such an act," Walker continued stiffly. "I understand that people of your planet become enraged toward those that rape others. Your desire to protect your students from suffering such violation is understandable, and I can see why you are willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe."

"Then," Lancer started, hesitant to learn of Walker's response, "if we had a way that may alter a small portion of Skulker's personality to ensure that he will no longer wish to take our students with him when he leaves, you would have no quarrel with us proceeding with this course?"

Walker debated the question in his head, probably running through every law of every planet to ensure that there was no rule breaking with the purposed idea. "If it causes no physical harm to him, I don't believe that violates any intergalatic laws." With a nod of his head, he left the witch.

Lancer took that as Walker saying that he would turn a blind eye to their alteration to Skulker's mental programming, assuming that Dan's theory held true. When he told Lancer about the idea Dan suggested to him, Vlad mentioned that Walker probably wouldn't have reason to rat them out to the people of Cyonetic, but Lancer thought it was good to get confirmation that the skeletal being wouldn't stand in their way of proceeding with the plan.

Turning back to the entrance of the school, Lancer opened the doors. Surprise splashed over his face when his green eyes landed on Skulker standing on the steps up to the door, but he quickly turned to rage when he saw the man held within the alien's arms. "What have you done to Daniel?" If Skulker caused any physical harm to Daniel, then Vlad would have arrived long before Lancer. The sun still being out, however, would have halted the vampire from actually being able to do anything against the alien, but Vlad would still be present right now if Daniel was hurt. The lack of Vlad's presence made Lancer wonder about this current situation, the witch's brow drawing together in thick lines with his puzzling thoughts.

"It's not Danny," Skulker answered with a touch of anger and annoyance in his tone. "Whoever this impostor is, he isn't able to pass through the barrier. Under other circumstances, I might have ignored this altogether. But given the appearance this person decided to take, I think you can guess why I'm actually coming to you and that vampire for help."

Lancer's jaw set tightly as his eyes narrowed at the alien. The fact that someone appeared at the school posing as Daniel was certainly something to be concerned about, though he hated that Skulker was the one bring this issue to their attention. Looking closer at the man within Skulker's arms, Lancer noticed the signs of magic, but they weren't the same as what he saw when he looked at Daniel. This magic was more controlled, something done by a skilled witch, instead of the chaos of the magic worked to revive Daniel.

"I'll open the barrier, but be quick about getting inside. I don't want to keep a hole within it for too long." Lancer held up his hands to the slight shimmer that he could see of the barrier that was invisible to everyone that couldn't see magic. Concentrating on the magic, the barrier fizzled briefly before the section of the barrier before the front door vanished. "Hurry."

Skulker wasted no time after the order, walking the last few steps to the door and entering the school. Once the alien was inside, Lancer restored the barrier with a quick check to ensure its stability, making sure there were no cracks that an enemy could take advantage of and strike at until they brought down the barrier.

"Let's go to the principal's office." Lancer narrowed his eyes, debating if he should be considering this some sort of trap as he led the way through the hallways with Skulker following behind him. Create a duplicate of Daniel and leave it behind while Skulker stole away with the real Daniel, but for something like that, Skulker would need a powerful witch under his employ. Lancer knew of a few other witches in Amity Park, but he doubted any of them would work with the alien.

It was already well past the end of the school day, and most of the student body left to go home. Only those that had after school activities remained, but they were busy in their classrooms or the theater or other places around the school, leaving the hallways devoid of other people. They encountered no one else on their way to the principal's office. Even Audrey no longer sat at the front desk, dismissed for the day. When he knocked on the door, Lancer received an immediate, "Come in."

Vlad lifted his head from going over papers as they entered his office. Alarm passed through his expression as he stood up, dark blue eyes focusing on the young, raven haired man in the alien's arms. "What have you done to him, Skulker?" he demanded in a cold, hard voice. Lancer knew that tone well. It was the manner Vlad spoke in when he planned to tear a person apart for harming his students. Considering that Daniel was the son of Vlad's old college friends, who he was on better terms with now, Lancer suspected the vampire's reaction would be far more brutal than usual.

"It's not Daniel," Lancer assured him in a calm tone. His green eyes flicked toward the man in Skulker's arms. "I think a limiter would be wise. From the magic I see, I believe whoever this impostor is, he mostly cast the magic himself. A limiter would keep him from being able to use his magic when he awakens."

Vlad nodded, though he didn't look completely convinced. Opening one of the drawers from his desk, he retrieved a collar. "Care to explain why someone is impersonating one of my students?" He walked around the desk and approached Skulker. His blue eyes narrowed darkly as he fitted the limiter collar around the fake Daniel's throat. Three red light blinked on the moment the lock snapped into place, indicating that the wear wouldn't be able to practice magic.

"I thought it strange that Danny would be standing around outside the school when he's supposed to be at that play rehearsal right now," Skulker explained, not fighting when Vlad lifted the man from his arms and placed him carefully in one of the chairs. "Even stranger when he asked what I meant when I called you a vampire." He folded his arms as a smirk appeared over his face. "Perhaps you should be a little happy that I pay such close attention to some of your students. I hear there's an incubus with his eyes on Danny as well."

"An incubus wouldn't need to assume Daniel's appearance to attack him again," Lancer said as he met gazes with Vlad, who from the look in his eyes had an inkling of why the incubus would choose to impersonate Daniel, or find someone to do it for him. Lancer doubted that Dan would be fooled by such a deceitful act. If the incubus sought to dispose of the shade by luring him away with a duplicate, then the incubus wasn't very wise. And the shade wasn't the only one standing in the incubus' way.

"I suppose we'll have to wait for the impostor to wake up before we get any questions," Vlad said, his eyes falling to Skulker. "I thank you for bringing this to our attention." He passed by the alien and held open the door.

"You think I'm just going to leave-"

"We shall take our leave now," Lancer said firmly, cutting off Skulker's protest as he placed a hand on the alien's shoulder, gripping it tightly. He guided the alien out of the office despite Skulker's obvious desire to stay and discover what exactly that impersonator was doing at the high school.

Vlad closed the door the moment they were out of his office, barring Skulker from entering the office. The alien could always use force, change his arms in some type of gun and blast his way inside, but even Skulker knew better than to do something like that.

"You can't keep what's happening with Danny a secret from me forever," Skulker said as he brushed off the teacher's hand from his shoulder. "I'll figure it out one way or another. I'm very good at getting information." His green eyes narrowed, glaring as cold as steel at the balding man.

But a muttering down the hallway caught Lancer's attention, and when he glanced over, he smirked at the sight of Technus coming their way. "We'll see about that," Lancer murmured with half a smirk at Skulker. "Nicolai!" he called to the white haired man. "Are you ready?"

Technus halted at the shout of his name. His eyes darted between Lancer and Skulker as the meaning behind the other teacher's question slowly turned in his head. "Oh, yes!" he agreed as he crossed the hallway toward them. "I think now is just the right time for it."

"Ready for what?" Skulker demanded, his eyes squinting and his face scrunching with anger at the cryptic conversation.

"I believe there's an open classroom nearby," Technus went on like the alien never spoke.

Skulker's attention was distracted, eying Lancer for some clue to what the teachers meant. He didn't notice the sparks flying from Technus' fingers as the teacher raised his hand behind the alien. With quick touch of Technus' fingers to the back of the alien's neck, Skulker suffered a moment of shock, like receiving a jolt of electricity through his body. His green eyes bulged out for a moment, a shout dying on his parted lips before his body fell limp. Lancer caught the unconscious form that twitched with spasms in the aftereffect of electrocution, though he wouldn't mind simply letting the alien hit the ground.

"You know, if this doesn't work," Technus said warily, "then he's probably going to wake up pretty pissed off."

"Let's worry about that after you've given this a try." Lancer didn't want to think about what they would do if this plan failed as he and Technus walked to the nearest empty classroom for privacy while the technopath worked. Lancer placed the unconscious alien on the floor while Technus locked the door to the classroom. "How long do you think this will take?" Leaning up against the door, Lancer watched as his co-worker knelt beside Skulker.

"Well, it depends on whether I can actually do this," Technus said as he placed his hands on the sides of Skulker's head. "There's the possibility that while what lies beneath the surface of his body is mostly made up of cybernetics, his brain might not actually be programmed like a computer."

"Let's try to think positively about this little venture." Lancer wanted to be positive, but the chance that their plan would fail kept wiggling into his mind. They needed this to work. For Daniel and Kwan's sakes, this had to work.

"Seems we're in luck." Technus smirked while his brow furrowed with concentration. "His mental programming has some fairly sophisticated blocks in place, probably to prevent someone hacking into his head." He flicked his gaze to Lancer with a wide grin on his face like he was enjoying this challenge far too much. "But I bet the people of his planet never expected to encounter someone like me. I should be able to crack through it all within an hour, maybe an hour and a half."

"Good." Relief flooded Lancer at those words. In less than two hours, Daniel and Kwan would be safe from Skulker, and the only major threat that would remain was the incubus. With nothing better to do at the moment, beyond grading papers, Lancer waited in the classroom, watching over Technus' progress, though he couldn't be certain what exactly was taking place while the technopath worked inside the alien's head.


	47. Chapter 47

The man stirred in the chair. When he looked up from his papers on the desk after catching the movement, Vlad frowned, taking note that the person sitting before his desk was no longer in the appearance of Daniel Fenton. He didn't recognize the woman that now occupied the chair. Her green tinged skin suggested that she no average human coerced into doing the incubus' will. Vlad could see tattoos peeking out from her shirt at the collar. The sides of her head were shaved, leaving a strip of ebony hair from her forehead back that now draped to the left side. Her red eyes snapped open, alarm flashing in them as she took in her surroundings for the first time. She sat up quickly, body tensed like she expected an attack and needed to prepare for it.

"Why can't I use my magic?" she demanded in a steady voice, not allowing herself to show fear in Vlad's presence.

"A limiter," Vlad explained as he tapped at his neck. He watched quietly as her hands flew to her throat, touching the collar, tugging at it, trying desperately to pry it off her. "You won't be able to get it off like that, and you won't be able to use your magic at all while it's on. Now," he laced his fingers as he leaned forward on the desk with a quiet fury in his blue eyes, "do you care to tell me your name?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" She narrowed her eyes at him as she relaxed back in the chair, looking like she had no cares in the world, like being held prisoner by a vampire and without her magic was nothing to fear.

Vlad kept the smirk from slipping onto his face as he watched the woman. She was very good at acting, but Vlad could see the hint of fear just barely flickering in her red eyes. She probably wasn't used to being without her magic, and having it cut off from her filled her with fear for the first time. She couldn't escape her current situation while powerless. Even if she ran from the office, she wouldn't be able to remove the collar or even leave the school. The barrier stood in her way, trapping her within the building.

"It may be wiser for you to cooperate with me." Vlad stood and walked around to lean against the front of his desk. Folding his arms, he narrowed his blue eyes down at the woman, using his usual principal intimidation glare that worked rather well on misbehaving students. "If you're participating in something that breaks council law, well, we might be able to convince them to give you a less harsh punishment if you give us the answers we want. I'll assume that you aren't working with Skulker."

"Who?" she questioned, her brow creasing and an eyebrow lifting as her face scrunched in confusion. That answered the question well enough. She had no dealings with Skulker, which confirmed that her little magical duplication was not a ruse to trick them so that Skulker could steal away with the real Daniel.

"Since you're not here to participate in some plan by Skulker, I can only assume that the reason you chose the appearance of that particular student was because you're working with the incubus known by the human name Frederich Showenhower." Vlad took note of her eyes widening a fraction in response to hearing that name. She probably didn't expect him to know that name or even that there was an incubus in Amity Park at that moment.

The name Showenhower gained a few hits after he learned of it from Johnny. A circus traveled across the country setting up in towns for only a brief few days before packing up and moving onto the next. The circus ringleader was a man by the name Showenhower, and nearly every member of the circus was something supernatural. The council caught up to them six years ago after months of tracking them down. The circus had no set schedule, hitting towns at random but always leaving behind evidence that they were there with dead bodies scattered through the town before they left. Every single member of the circus was found guilty of various crimes, and none of them were likely to see the light of day again. From the reports that Vlad could find on the council database, the ringleader Showenhower was an incubus that raped and killed dozens of women over his near six decades of life. Vlad had no doubts that the ringleader was Frederich's father. How nice that father and son may be reunited in the council's prison, he thought with a mental sneer as his hands tightened around his arms, furious of the incubus' actions toward his student, toward his friends' son.

"So what was the big plan here?" Vlad questioned when the woman remained quiet, refusing to respond to his questions. "Did you think you could lure away the shade, that Frederich obviously knows stands watch over Daniel, and perhaps you thought you could kill him, thereby eliminating the thing standing in Frederich's way from attacking Daniel again?" He reached into the pocket of his suit and retrieved a small vial. At the sight of the vial between his fingers, the woman immediately groped around inside her pockets. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she glared at the vampire. "Did you think I wouldn't check for anything dangerous on your person? I suppose this," he held up the vial, twisting it around as he stared at the silvery liquid inside, "is something that you believe can kill a shade."

Vlad wasn't quite sure that it would work in the way the woman thought it would. Dan was something much more than a shade now, thanks to Daniel being kind enough of to give a chance at life. But if Frederich and his partner were clueless about that, Vlad certainly wasn't going to correct their thinking. It was better than they knew nothing about the ritual Lancer performed on Dan and Danny.

The woman laughed, easing back into the chair. "Do you honestly believe that you can threaten answers out of me?" She grinned, cruel and cold, as she crossed her legs. "You don't know the life I've lived. The things I've experienced. You have no idea what I've done to further my education into the dark arts. You think being held a prisoner by council is going to scare me?" She shook her head with another laugh. "The council isn't terrifying. If all the others realized that point, well, we could rule this world. Why should we hide and let the _normal_ humans scare us? We're more powerful than they are. We could snuff out their lives in a matter of moments and take control of this world like we were meant to do from the beginning."

"Perhaps there are some that would agree with your way of thinking." Vlad gazed at her with a bored look after listening to her speech. "But the number of us that enjoy a peaceful life alongside the humans far outweigh the few outcasts of our kind. And you can bet your pretty little face that we _will_ stand against such an uprising if you ever thought to create one." Half a smirk cut over his face at the scowl on the woman's face as she realized that he was probably correct. The number that wanted peace was far greater than those that wanted bloodshed. "And I suppose I have no real need to ask questions of you. I learned what I needed. You're working with the incubus. But what is he going to do now that his witch can no longer aid him in his conquest over my student? You failed to eliminate the shade, and now we know his intentions. All we have to do is give the illusion that Daniel is alone, and we can draw him into a trap."

That news sparked a reaction from her. The woman moved quickly, striking her elbow down hard on the arm of the wooden chair with enough force to snap a sharp section of it free. Launching out of the chair, she raised the makeshift stake in her hand, ready to pierce it through the vampire's heart. Her movements were laughably slow in comparison to a vampire's speed. In the blink of the eye, Vlad was behind her, grabbing her by the wrist and squeezing it until she was forced to release her hold on the stake. She gasped in pain as he twisted her arms behind her and slammed her down on the desk, holding her in place with a hand on her head.

"You love him," Vlad said, not needing to question it. She was willing to throw away her own life to protect the incubus. "But do you honestly think he returns those feelings? Right now, he needs your power to achieve his own goal. Why would he need you once he's finished with Daniel? What would be stopping him from feeding upon your life in the moment of what you believe to be love making?"

"You don't know anything about our feelings!" she shouted, struggling futilely against his superior strength.

When the door burst open, Vlad glanced over his shoulders to see Dan in his human guise standing in the doorway, looking like he was ready to throw punches if it was needed. The vampire lifted a curious eyebrow at him.

"It sound like a scuffle was happening in here," Dan admitted, his blue eyes dropping to the broken chair before turning to Vlad and the woman he held pinned to the desk. "Though I suppose my assistance isn't needed here." He folded his arms over the bland gray-blue coveralls that came with the job of being a janitor. His tone hinted at his disappointment over missing the action. With the right guidance, Dan could make a reliable addition to their team of watching over the students at Casper High, if he wished to remain on staff even after Daniel graduated.

"No, but I thank you for coming to check," Vlad said, genuinely meaning his thanks. "I did wish to speak to you, however. I know you will probably wish to fight me on this, but I want you to stay within the school and keep your presence hidden for some time."

"No." Dan spoke with great finality in his voice, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Having known that would be the response, Vlad sighed. "Then at the very least, while outside the school and outside his home, you must keep yourself completely invisible. Don't do anything that might provoke Daniel into a response to reveal your presence. It's important that we keep the incubus thinking that his friend," he lowered his eyes to the woman, "succeeded in killing your off, perhaps sacrificing her own life in the effort."

"A trap," Dan said, catching on immediately as he nodded with a smirk. "I can go along with that. And when the incubus makes his move on Danny, I'll be ready to strike." He unfolded his arms to crack the knuckles of one hand.

Vlad thought that would be the case. After coming up with the plan for dealing with Skulker, Dan seemed like the type that would agree to deceitful measures to take out a threat, especially if it meant that he could beat up on the incubus that hurt Daniel by going along with the plan.

"If you could," Vlad said, nodding his head to his desk. "There should be some handcuffs in one of my drawers. I think our friend here has proven that she can't be trusted to have her hands free."

Dan glanced once again at the broken chair, the makeshift stake lying on the floor at their feet, and he understood what Vlad meant. "You keep handcuffs in your drawer?" The shade snorted as he walked around to the other side to search the drawers. "Your students would probably want to hurl when they think of what you and the witch do with them in your spare time."

His eyes narrowed at the smirking shade, and Vlad resisted the urge to smack that expression off his face. "It's for situations like this," he said through clenched teeth. When Dan held out the handcuffs, Vlad snatched them from his hand, quickly slapping them around the woman's wrists.

"What do you plan to do with her now?" Dan frowned at the woman that scowled at them, hatred in her red eyes.

"The council will pick her up and take her back to headquarters to await her sentencing in their prison. But," Vlad frowned at the woman as he pulled her up from the desk, "we'll need to capture the incubus to make her sentencing stick. The act alone of impersonating another person isn't enough to warrant time in prison, unless she has any prior criminal acts on her record that the council is aware of. Conspiring with an incubus to kill will be more than enough for her to spend the remainder of her life within their prison." Vlad wasn't surprised to see that the woman showed no fear at the threat of living her days out in a prison cell. But she didn't know what being locked away was like. Vlad spent six months in one of the council's cells at the beginning of his time. It was part of the training, Marquis told him, to show him what happened to criminals. Vlad never wanted to experienced being locked away by the council ever again. If this woman knew what was good for her, she would be afraid, very afraid. If she knew what life was like in that prison, she would give up all the information she knew in hopes of a lighter sentence.


	48. Chapter 48

The day so far was strange. Danny dropped into his usual place in the circle of friends that ate lunch in the theater. Desiree joined them, sitting next to Paulina as she ate. Their conversations usually involved the play, talking about scenery and props, lighting and costumes. Occasionally they would drag Dora over to discuss things. Valerie came with Wulf and Kwan, the trio looking like they got along well with each other now. Valerie often had her phone out and got sucked into texting someone as a smile spread onto her face. Since their return to school a week ago, Johnny brought along Kitty and Ember as he joined Abner for lunch. It was fun because sometimes Johnny would start playing his guitar and Ember would get up and sing for them.

"You're not looking too happy," Dash said, taking notice of Danny's scrunched up expression first. Danny knew Dash would be all too happy to hear that Danny was frustrated with Dan's presence in the school. That first morning when they arrived and Dash saw Dan dressed up in the janitor's uniform, sparks had flown between the two men. The girls of the school, on the other hand, were all too excited about the new janitor, giggling and blushing whenever Dan walked by them.

"I don't know," Danny mumbled as he raked a hand through his hair. He looked toward Wulf and Kwan. "Didn't Skulker seem strange today?"

Kwan wiped a glob of something white from his lip before scraping it off his thumb with his teeth. He pondered the question for a moment before his brow furrowed. "Now that you mention it, yeah, that was kind of weird."

"Wait. So what happened?" Paulina glanced among the three men while everyone else waited silently to hear the latest news on the threat Skulker posed.

"Nothing," Danny and Kwan voiced together. "He didn't do his whole creepy as hell glaring thing like he's plotting out how to get us," Danny continued, folding his arms. "I mean, usually in class, he leans over the aisle a lot and makes threats, but he didn't today. And he totally ignored Wulf blocking him from even touching Kwan. He just sat there in class looking bored the whole time. Then after class, Cogsworth totally had this smirk on his face when he caught my eye."

"Yeah, it was like Skulker didn't even care about us," Kwan said, frowning like he didn't know what to make of this situation. Danny could understand some of why the jock looked lost. For the last three years, Kwan had Skulker on his back, breaking down his mental walls and making him feel weak and helpless. Now suddenly, Skulker hardly gave him a passing notice. It was completely out of character unless the alien thought to play with them, give them a false sense of security. But none of them could fathom what trick Skulker might have up his sleeve by acting like that.

"Maybe he finally got in his head that going after you is a fool's game," Ember said, looking up from writing in a notebook. "I mean seriously. Even if you take away Masters and Lancer and the other teachers working to protect all the students, look at the group here. So what if he can make a sonic ray gun out his ass? He can't take all of us at once."

"Yeah, and Kwan's gotten pretty good at protection barriers," Valerie said as she reached over to ruffle the jock's hair. "There's no way Skulker will be able to get through it."

Danny turned a curious look on Kwan. "Protection barriers? You've learned how to do that?" He grabbed a bagel from the pile of food in the center of their circle. Everyone started chipping in whatever they could now that there was a larger number of them, but Dash still brought the majority of the food. Tearing off a piece of the bagel, Danny grinned at the blond man beside him. He was fairly certain he would have starved in school if not for Dash providing lunch since the cafeteria only served sludge that smelled worse than it looked.

"Masters found a kitsune from a local clan that was willing to train me," Kwan explained as he knocked away Valerie's hand from scratching at a furry ear that slipped from his glamour. Danny caught Paulina staring at the ears atop Kwan's head and tried not to laugh when he thought she probably wanted to play with them too. Even Kitty, Ember, and Abner shared that same look, this being the first time they actually saw that fox ears on the jock.

"That's great!" Danny grinned happily for Kwan. "Having someone experienced really helps a lot. I'm learning so much about what I can do now thanks to Dan training me."

Dash snorted with a roll of his dark blue eyes at the mention of Dan's name. Danny sighed at that reaction, which seemed to happen any time Dan slipped into the conversation. It only served to remind him how angry Dash would probably be if he learned that Dan sometimes shared Danny's bed. With a mental sigh, he wished there was some way to make the two men work things out, or at the very least have them act civilly toward each other. His mother still wanted to set up a dinner with Dash, and Danny saw that going even less well with Dan in the picture now. He could just imagine the two of them slinging insults and glaring at each other the whole time.

"The two of you can't keep snarking at each other forever," Danny said as he frowned at Dash.

"You two spend an awful lot of time with each other."

Danny didn't need to be a telepath like Dash to know what was going on inside the blond man's head with that comment. "He's like an older brother to me," Danny insisted, reaching out to take hold of Dash's hand. "I was pretty much his only connection to this world for eight months. And he's the only one that knows anything about the powers I have since he has them too, and he's had them for longer. And it wouldn't be good for any of us if I walked around randomly disappearing or passing through things or walking on air and stuff. I have to learn control."

"I understand that," Dash said, though he didn't look any happier after hearing that explanation.

The others in their group subtly returned to talking with each other, though they were still clearly listening to see how things would go between the two men. Paulina especially was keeping an eye on them, worrying her lower lip. Danny was still confused by her comment about him and Dan having nearly identical auras, but he assumed it mostly had to do with the fact that they shared part of themselves with each other, which likely caused some alteration to his own aura. Paulina, though, still seemed one hundred percent certain that Dash and Danny were a perfect match, so naturally she worried that Dan's presence might interfere with her friends' happiness.

"But I think you're blinding yourself to just how much that shade cares about you," Dash continued with a grumpy frown that was almost a pout. "You might see him as a brother figure, but I can tell you without a doubt that he wants you to see him as something more."

"I'm not blind to that." Sighing, Danny raked a hand through his raven hair. "I'm actually very much aware of that fact. And okay. If you want absolute honesty from me, yeah, I think he's kind of attractive. He's got that whole build that's always drawn my attention ever since I found out I was gay." He slapped a hand over Dash's mouth before he could get a word out, and from the look on the blond man's face, it was obvious he didn't like what Danny was saying. "But just because I may feel some attraction to him, it doesn't mean I'm going to turn around and let him jump my bones behind your back. I like you, Dash. And if you don't trust me on that," he shrugged, pulling his hand away from Dash's mouth, "then take a peek inside my head. I give you permission to go poking around if it'll prove that you're the one that fills my dreams."

Danny understood the giant risk he was taking in allowing Dash full access to his mind. The telepath might grow angry the first moment that he learned Dan offered comfort to Danny as he slept when the nightmares came. Dash might not look past that to the truth or allow for an explanation. Dan might not sleep and suffer from nightmares, but Danny was fairly certain that Dan held him in the night to comfort himself as well. When all was silent and dark outside, it must remind Dan of being trapped within the dark place.

"Don't," Dash growled with a dangerously dark look in his eyes as he glared at Danny, "ever suggest that again."

Danny sat there stunned, feeling a chill run down his spine after seeing that expression on Dash's face. He never saw that before, not even when Dash would glare at Skulker. At the growling command, everyone fell silent, watching as the telepath got to his feet and stormed out of the theater. No one knew what to say or do after Dash's outburst, too stunned to even react.

Scrambling to his feet, Danny hurried after Dash, still trying to figure out what set off the other man. He caught up to Dash in the hallway as he grabbed the telepath's arm. Luckily, the rest of the students generally ate in the cafeteria, leaving the hallways clear of anyone else so that they could speak without being overheard. Danny frowned at the anger still written clearly on Dash's face when he snapped dark blue eyes onto him.

"Dash, what's wrong?" Danny could hear the plea in his voice and wanted to kick himself for it. "I know you don't like hearing people's thoughts, but a telepath should be able to hear more than just the surface thoughts. Why are you so angry when I told you I was okay with it?"

"Because," Dash shouted, making Danny jerk away from him before he caught himself. With a sigh, he rubbed a hand over his face, pinching at his nose. "I'm never doing that again. Especially not to you, Danny. I can't go through that again."

Brow creasing, Danny turned those words over in his head. He reached up, touching an icy hand to Dash's check as he forced the telepath to look toward him. "What are you talking about, Dash? What can't you go through again?" Anger bled into his confusion when Dash glanced away, seeming like he wouldn't answer the questions. "You keep telling me I need to be honest about you with everything, that I can trust you with everything. But you get to keep secrets from me? Dash, that's not fair!" He knew he sounded like a whiny child in that moment, but it wasn't fair. It was a double standard, hypocrisy, that Danny should divulge everything about him while Dash got to sit on his own secrets.

Dash sighed tiredly as he walked over to lean against the wall before slowly lowering himself to sit on the floor. Danny joined him, sitting next to the telepath as he waited patiently for some kind of explanation. Pain showed in Dash's eyes as he took a moment to collect himself, put together what he needed to say, figure out the right way to tell his story. Danny remained silent, allowing him all the time he needed to work up the nerve to start speaking. Breathing out a noisy sigh, Dash bowed his head, running his hand through his blond locks before he laced his fingers together behind his neck.

"I was six when the telepathy first hit me," Dash spoke in a quiet, distant tone like he was trying to dissociate himself from what happened in the past, like that made it easier to talk about it. "It took me two years to get somewhat of a handle on it, to block out the majority of thoughts firing like crazy in everyone's mind around me. I didn't have anyone to help me through it. I had to figure it out on my own how to control this ability, and it wasn't easy." He took another deep breath, hesitating, delaying the inevitable that he would have to tell Danny. "I had this friend. Michael. He was my best friend when I was eight. Naturally, I didn't even think there was anything bad that could happen from telling Michael about my telepathy. Michael thought it was so cool that I had this power, like it made me some kind of superhero out of a comic book. He wanted to be a part of it, wanted to help me figure out how to control my powers and see what I can do with them. I didn't think anything could go wrong peeking beyond the surface of someone's mind." He lifted his head a little, his blue eyes glancing Danny's way. "I put him in the hospital. He's still there, suffering from whatever I did to him when I touched his mind. I don't even know what I did to him. I don't even know if there's a way to fix it. And I can't even try because I could make it worse trying to go back into his mind. And I _won't_ ," his expression and voice turned firm, "risk doing something like that to you."

Danny scooted closer to Dash, hugging his arms around the other man. "I'm sorry you had to go through something like that." He couldn't imagine the weight of carrying something like that around for ten years, living with the memory of putting a friend in the hospital with an unfixable mental condition that probably left the doctor's baffled. Not being able to help that friend only made it worse. Danny hugged his arms around Dash, drawing the blond closer to him. Wrapping his arms around the smaller man, Dash pressed his head into Danny's shoulder.

"My dad was an ass," Dash blurted out, his voice somewhat muffled against Danny. "But maybe if he stayed, I would have learned how to use this ability better. Maybe I never would have hurt Michael like that."

Danny squeezed his arms reassuring around the telepath, resting his chin on top of Dash's head. "Maybe we can find another telepath," he mumbled thoughtfully. "I have someone to help me with my powers. Kwan has a kitsune to teach him. Sam is going to learn magic from Lancer. If we can find an experienced telepath, I bet Masters could help find someone, you could learn how to use your powers better. Maybe they can even teach you how to help Michael."

"He'll hate me." Misery filled Dash's voice.

"Maybe," Danny agreed. "Your friendship probably won't be what it was back when you were eight. His mentality will probably be stuck at being eight years old. But at least you would have helped him. You would have given him his life back so that he doesn't spend the rest of his life in the hospital. You would have given his parents back their son. Maybe you'll have lost a friend. Maybe he won't forgive you. Maybe he'll hate you. But if you could help him, wouldn't you want to?"

Dash was silent for a long time before he nodded his head. "Yeah," he answered barely above a whisper, "I would."


	49. Chapter 49

Skulker scratched a hand through his short, unruly hair as a frown furrowed his brow, creasing the flesh between his eyebrows. He thought something felt off when he left the high school yesterday, but he couldn't put his finger on why exactly. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen the prior day. It was the same boring day of classes as always, and he left the school to head home like always. The homework was of little consequence to him now that the football season was finished. He only kept up the pretense of being a studious student to stay on the team because being the star player of the season winning football team made him popular, gave him rule over the silly institute of education. It amused him to watch the little lemmings following after him simply because he could throw a ball around a field. Humans were such simple minded creatures, and Skulker couldn't wait to get off this waste of space and return to his home planet.

It would all be over soon enough though. His punishment for trying to steal the royal treasure from Necravion would end when the senior class graduated in June. He groaned as he realized it was only two weeks into January, leaving a little more than five months left on his sentence. Living on this planet for nearly three years felt like hell. The people of Earth were so behind in their technological advancements that it almost physically pained him to stay this long here. They had nothing of value either. Everything on this planet was so common, so un-unique that Skulker was bored to tears. He was a hunter. He sought out things that were rare, things that were one of a kind, things that no one else would ever have in their collection as well. But that, of course, was the reason the Necravions sentenced him to this planet: Earth was devoid of anything of worth for him to add to his collection. The Necravions should be lucky that he never thought to blow up their silly little planet of living skeletons.

He knocked shoulders with some poor pathetic human life form on his way through the hallways. "Watch it, Poindexter!" Skulker snapped as he knocked the books out of the nerds hands, sending them thumping onto the floor. The act did little to calm his frustration.

For Poindexter, this type of thing was the usual, a given, an everyday occurrence that the nerd would probably never escape in all his days. Skulker sneered at the scrawny man as he bent down to collect his things. When he started to leave Poindexter to his books, he stopped and stared, a brow raising as the raven haired man wearing the familiar lettermen jacket of a football player crouched down beside Poindexter, picking up books here and there to return to the nerd.

"God, Kwan!" Skulker groaned as he shook his head at his teammate. "Can't you for once act like a normal jock? You're supposed to bully the nerds, not pick up their books for them." He sneered at the Asian jock, disgusted by show of kindness.

Kwan handed over the books and shooed Poindexter on his way down the hallway before he turned on Skulker. Anger and hatred were etched deep within the lines of his face. Fury burned in his aqua green eyes as they narrowed at the alien. "Not all of us are unfeeling assholes like you."

His eyes twitched in annoyance, and Skulker took a step toward his teammate only to have Kwan flinch away from him. He snorted at that reaction. "Really now?" He placed his hands on his hips as Kwan tried to glare defiantly at him despite the hint of fear in his eyes, unusual coloring for someone of Asian descent. "We've been teammates since sophomore year, and you still treat me like I'm about to eat you or something?"

It was a laughable idea. Why would he have any interest in Kwan? The other jock was an average, boring human with nothing special about him beyond his eyes. Skulker frowned as he looked over his teammate. That feeling of something being off snaked its way back into his mind, nagging at him though he couldn't figure out why. As he stared longer at Kwan, the feeling grew stronger, but any answer to why he thought something wasn't quite right with the whole situation remained beyond his grasp. It was entirely too frustrating, making him suffer the urge to destroy something, but he had to keep up appearances.

Kwan's eyes narrowed like he was trying to figure something out as he frowned. "You mean you don't?"

Skulker laughed, which seemed to surprise his teammate. "Who would be interested in you? You blend right into the background. If you weren't on the football team, people probably wouldn't even give you a second look."

Kwan blinked several times, some of the tension relaxing out of his broad shoulders. His mouth hung part way open, shocked by Skulker's words, and that look on his face only made the alien want to laugh at him. Someone certainly thought themselves far more important than they truly were if they thought they were anything beyond predictably mundane. Kwan was clearly baffled over the fact that Skulker had no interest in him. Thinking back over the past nearly three years, Skulker tried to determine how Kwan could ever come to the conclusion that he would be interested in his teammate. He couldn't recall doing or saying anything that might indicate any sort of interest in the Asian jock. When a thought struck him, he laughed and closed the distance between the two of them.

"Or were you trying to suggest that you _want_ me to have an interest in you?" Skulker reached out toward his teammate, but Kwan quickly backed up two hops of a step to put distance between them before Skulker could even touch him. Those strange aqua green eyes narrowed with a chaos of fury and disgust raging in them. Skulker smirked in amusement as he clutched his outstretched hand. Perhaps Kwan was nothing more than an average human, but his reactions to things were quite interesting. That speed that he just displayed was especially curious. In the instant, Kwan moved faster than a normal human should be capable of doing.

"No one in their right mind would want you being interested in them," Kwan replied with a hint of a growl in his voice. His stance was defensive, like he expected some sort of attack at any moment or was ready to flee the second Skulker moved toward him again.

"Well, lucky for you, I don't have any interest in pathetic life forms." Humans were, of course, the most pathetic of any life form, but Skulker didn't bother to say that out loud. The surprise was back on Kwan's face, like the words Skulker spoke didn't make sense to him. It gave him pause, forcing him to wonder what was strange in his words. They didn't sound wrong to him, not quite, but as he puzzled over Kwan's reaction, he began to think maybe his words weren't right. But what about them was off? He was a hunter, a collector of things that were rare and unique. His trophy room was filled with one of a kind artifacts that he gathered, sometimes stole, from all over the universe.

Life forms, in general, had nothing unique about them. Earth was filled with many different species, and beyond the humans were the supernatural of all kinds. But none of them were rare. Even the dragon kin which were nearly extinct after centuries of being hunted by knights didn't fit into the definition of what he hunted. They were few in number, but they were hardly one of a kind.

"Pathetic life forms?" Kwan repeated dully, like he was struggling to wrap his mind around the simple concept. A frown settled on his face as his brow wrinkled with deep set lines of confusion. It was like he was trying to puzzle out some difficult mathematical problem that was missing several key variables in order to solve it properly.

"Yes," Skulker said with a roll of green eyes, wondering how thick headed the jock could be. He knew that many of the other football players weren't all that bright, needed to bully the smarter students, usually the losers of the school into doing all their homework for them and finding ways to cheat on tests to achieve passing grades that allowed them to remain on the team. Kwan was easily the brightest member of the team, that was human, and actually spent his time studying over bullying the less popular. "Why would I care about someone so common? All you humans are alike. Nothing unique about any of you."

The confusion didn't clear from Kwan's face, and Skulker wondered if perhaps the other jock suffered a hard blow to head recently that caused him to suffer these moments of utter stupidity. "Well," Kwan said slowly, like he was trying to figure out how exactly to respond to the alien. Again, there was that sense of something wrong, and Skulker set his jaw in frustration. "You're not exactly Mr. Unique yourself," the Asian jock concluded, drawing the alien back to their conversation.

Skulker snorted, shaking his head at Kwan's attempt to strike at him with a sharp barb. "That wasn't the point. But if we're going there," he folded his arms as he smirked, "my kind are at least far more advanced than the people on this pathetic rock. I'm surprised none of the other alien races have decided to invade this planet to make something better of it. You'd all probably be a lot better off under alien rule." His smirk turned rather cruel. "Maybe when I return home, I'll convince my leaders to take over this planet. We could use some new slaves."

Something in the alien's words made Kwan's face fall into some distress, the look amusing Skulker. Perhaps the thought of becoming a slave to an alien race that could decimate this planet in the blink of an eye was terrifying for the other jock. Fear was a useless emotion, like love, that his race eliminated from their mentality. Fear was a limitation, and without it, they were able to accomplish so much more than the pathetic human race.

"Slaves?" A woman scoffed, and Skulker turned a scowl on her as Valerie walked passed him to stand at Kwan's side. "Do I want to ask what the two of you were talking about?" Folding her arms, she narrowed her green eyes in hatred at him. Skulker wasn't surprised by the glare. Since the beginning of his sentence, Valerie never liked him much, but that hardly mattered to him. Skulker wasn't on this planet to make friends.

"Skulker was just announcing his plans for the invasion of Earth," Kwan explained, having a friend at his side seeming to strengthen his courage.

"Genius plan there," Valerie said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "I bet he'll end up with a punishment worse than three miserable years here if he actually tried to invade us."

Skulker laughed, a hard bark of a laugh. "You really think the rest of the universe would care if someone came in and took over this pitiful rock?" His shoulders shook from suppressing more laughter. The very idea that this planet held any importance was beyond amusing. "This planet could be wiped out, blown to smithereens, erased from existence, and the rest of the universe wouldn't even bat an eye."

"Big words from the space man," Valerie joked, hardly impressed by Skulker's claims. Then she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Come on, Kwan. We have too much homework to do. We don't have the time to listen to the pathetic ramblings of some alien scum."

Skulker scowled at the pair as they left, walking away down the hallway. Standing up straight, he folded his arms as he thought about the encounter. That nagging feeling never left, and it made his brow furrow in deep concentration. He searched through his memory bank, seeking any minor discrepancy to what he knew to be true, but he couldn't find anything, nothing that he could put a finger on and say for certain that the data was incorrect. Skulker set his jaw tightly, grinding his teeth painfully hard. He might not know what was wrong, but he definitely knew something wasn't right. He wasn't going to rest until he discovered what that was.


	50. Chapter 50

"You want to teach him what?" Dash raised an incredulous brow at the shade standing with his arms folded as he stood before Danny who sat at his desk, pencil tapping out a random beat on his math textbook. It was obvious simply by looking at the blond man how furious he was at the moment, and that anger had little to do with what Dan said only moments ago. Danny knew his anger really stemmed from having learned that Dan was now working at the high school as a janitor, an obvious means of keeping a watch on Danny while he was in class. It took Danny quite the effort to keep the two of them from going at it in the middle of the school hallway where a number of other students were already giving them curious looks.

"I'm a little confused here too," Danny said as his brow furrowed and he frowned in that usual way he had when he was confused and thinking hard to come up with the answer himself but couldn't seem to get it.

Dan sighed, rubbing at his face and clearly trying not to snap at Dash. At least they seemed to be getting along for the moment, which Danny decided was a good thing. "I want to teach him a new ability," Dan said in a tight, controlled voice. "I think it could come in handy, and since, as I've already told you, we're trying to draw out the incubus using Danny as bait, which I still don't completely like."

"Can't say I like it either," Dash grumbled and predictably was enraged when Dan mentioned that piece of information. They all agreed that it was probably best to leave Danny's parents out of the loop on this plan. They might know everything now, but Danny doubted they would sit idly by while their son was sent out like a lamb to the slaughter. Danny was no more pleased with the idea than the other two, but he could understand the reason for the plan. He was, after all, the only thing the incubus cared about in Amity Park. He was the only bait they _could_ use to draw out the incubus. That, unfortunately, meant that he would have to wander around at times, appearing like he was absolutely alone. Dan, of course, would be at his side, invisibly keeping watch over Danny.

"And that's why it's important that I train him to know how to use his abilities." Dan narrowed his red eyes, daring Dash to argue with him. "I know you have issues with me being around Danny, but certainly you can understand the simple fact that he's much better off learning how to properly use the power he has. I'll be with him, but he'll be much better off if he can defend himself as well."

"Yeah, but I'm not so certain about this one." Dash's brow drew together, pinching in the center as he frowned his doubt at the shade. Danny admitted that he felt a bit skeptical at the idea as well.

"Just wait until you've seen it in action." Dan smirked smugly, clearly knowing something the other two men didn't. He took a glance around the bedroom as a frown tugged at his mouth. "But we should do it somewhere else. I doubt you want to have to repair your window again."

His mouth thinned because Danny really didn't want his parents getting mad over another broken window. "The basement should be clear. My parents haven't been spending as much time down there now that they don't have to invent things to catch the supernatural."

"Sounds like a reasonable enough place." Dan sank through the floor, heading directly down to the basement.

"You're not going to do that, right?" Dash asked hesitantly, eying the spot where Dan stood moments ago.

"Oh, come on!" As he stood up, Danny shifted immediately into his other form, his usual clothes being replaced with the black and white ensemble. When he caught his reflection, he still thought the snowy white hair and glowing green eyes were strange. But the whole look made him feel like some kind of superhero, which put a dorky grin on his face. He grabbed hold of Dash's hands and dragged him off the bed. "There's nothing to be afraid of." Then without warning, he turned intangible, extending his power like Dan showed him to Dash. They both sank through the floor with Dash giving a startled yelp at the strange sensation that came with phasing through solid objects.

"That was," Dash stumbled after they landed on the floor in the basement laboratory, "weird."

"Looks like lover boy isn't so good with flying or intangibility." Dan grinned as the scowl on the blond man's face.

"Please," Danny said, putting himself between the two men, "let's not start getting into the head butting again. We're down here," he glanced around to make sure his parents weren't there watching in surprised silence, but the laboratory empty save for the three of them, "to train. So let's just get started on that."

"Right." Dan narrowed his red eyes a fraction at Dash standing on the other side of Danny. "You've done pretty well with the basic skills: flying, invisibility, intangibility. And you've gotten the hang of your cryokinesis and making shields was well as energy blasts. This one might be a little tougher to master."

"What's so tough about a shout?" Dash snorted in derision as he folded his arms, looking completely unimpressed after hearing about the new skill that Dan wanted to teach Danny.

"It took me a long time to figure out how to do this one," Dan snapped back as he drew himself up to tower over the telepath. "And Danny's still at a much lower level. He doesn't have the same strength that I've acquired while I was trapped in that dark realm. He might not even be able to do it. This might be one skill that didn't transfer over to him, like my pyrokinesis. But we won't know until he's tried to learn it."

"I've gotten pretty good with the cryokinesis," Danny said with a proud grin to Dash. With his head turned away, he missed the dark scowl on Dan's face. Holding his hand up before him, he concentrated as the ice formed between his hands. It went much faster than his first attempts, the ice quickly forming into a snowflake just smaller than his palm. The form shifted into a diamond, and Dash's dark blue eyes watched in awe as Danny manipulated his conjured ice. The diamond became a star then a rose before he added more ice to the mass, twisting into a long slender snake the length of his arm. Arms and legs formed, and wings sprouted from the back, turning the snake into a dragon. Danny couldn't stop grinning as his creation took off and flew about the laboratory freely.

"I didn't know you could do something like that," Dash said as the ice dragon landed on his head. When its tail snaked around his neck, he shivered at the coldness of it.

"I didn't know that either," Dan said in actual surprise as he walked over to examine Danny's work with the ice.

A flush of color tinged his cheeks as the other two men looked over the ice dragon. "You think I don't practice without you hovering over me all the time?" Danny asked, chewing on his lower lip. "I've been playing around with what I can do with the cryokinesis beyond just shooting out freeze rays and coating things with ice."

Dan continued studying the ice dragon with a hand to his chin and his brow creased in deep thought. Dash frowned in annoyance as the shade continued standing too close to him. After some time of consideration, Dan stepped away, making Dash relax somewhat. He held up a hand as green fire burst to life over his flesh. Danny would feel concerned as he watched the flames dancing over the shade's hand if he didn't already know that Dan could control whether his fire actually burned what it touched or merely felt warm to the touch. Dan's brow wrinkled and his nose scrunched up in frustration as he focused on the fire in his hand. It happened slowly, the flicker of flames taking shape, giving form to chaos.

The fiery dragon leaped from his hand, soaring through the laboratory. Dan watched it with wide red eyes, like he couldn't believe he could create something like that. Grinning widely, Danny made the ice dragon leave its cozy perch on Dash's head to give chase to the fiery dragon that was slightly larger than it. They danced in the air, fire and ice twisting together as they flew about, before parting to land on their creators.

"I never even considered that you could do anything like this with our powers," Dan admitted, lifted a hand to the dragon on his shoulder, and its fiery head leaned forward to rub against his hand. "I thought my powers were only good for destruction."

Danny watched the shade interacting with his creation, but a frown found its way onto his face. "I think I can understand," he said, his voice oddly soft and quiet, drawing the other two men's attention to him. "Being trapped there for who knows how long," his frown deepened as he tried to put himself in Dan's place. "If I hadn't been raped, if I hadn't been killed like that, if I had been trapped there all alone in cold darkness." He took a breath. "I think I'd probably turn to rage as well to keep myself from going completely bat shit crazy in a place like that."

The dragon vanished from Dan's shoulder in a wisp of green smoke. His mouth thinned as he folded his arms. "That dark realm is all I've ever known. My memories don't extend past waking up in darkness. If I lived any sort of life before becoming a shade, I have no memories of it." His brow creased as some thought wiggled its way into his mind. "Did I exist because that dark realm existed? Or did that dark realm come into existence because I suddenly existed?"

Danny found himself speechless at that question. How could he think of an answer? How could anyone ever know the answer? The only reason Danny even found himself in that dark place was because he was killed. If that was the place where souls went when they died, then Dan would have encountered other souls long before Danny was killed. They wouldn't have been there alone. Unless each soul fell into its own dark place, their own personal hell of nothingness. But if that was true, why did Danny end up in Dan's realm instead of his own?

"Does it really matter?" Dash asked, interrupting the silence. "Who cares how or when you came into existence? You're asking the chicken or the egg question. There's no beginning to that. It's a circle." He released a suffering sigh like he couldn't believe he was going to say what he was about to say. "But I'm thankful that you did exist, no matter the reason of why, since without you, Danny probably wouldn't have been able to live again."

Dan could only stare at the telepath for some time in stunned silence. "I think that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Dark blue eyes narrowed as Dash folded his arms and leaned against the wall of the laboratory. "It's only because of Danny," he grumbled, refusing to look at the shade. "Now were you two going to stand around all day playing with fire and ice, or were you going to teach him that thing?"

That brought Dan back to himself. He took hold of Dash's shoulders, and ignoring all protests from the telepath, he moved Dash to the back of the laboratory so that he was behind them. Dash glared at the shade that turned his back on him. "I don't suppose you have some sort of earplugs or something for him?" Dan tossed a thumb over his shoulder at Dash. When Danny shook his head, Dan turned back to Dash with half a smirk. "You might want to cover your ears for this then."

Dash frowned in skepticism, but he raised his hands to cover his ears. Danny didn't feel any more confident about this than Dash, but he waited for Dan to tell him what to do. The shade placed his hands on Danny's shoulders and turned him around to face the far wall of the laboratory, putting Dash at his back.

"All right," Dan announced then rubbed at his neck as he thought about how to describe what they were about to do. "I guess the same principle applies here. Gather up your power, let it fill your lungs, focus it into your voice, and when you think you can't hold it any longer, release it in a loud shout."

"Wow, way to explain things so well," Dash commented sarcastically, gaining a growl from the shade.

"Just give it a try, Danny," Dan said as he took a step back to stand behind the snow white haired man.

Danny didn't feel very confident about those instructions, being as vague as they were. He took a few calming breathes as he focused on his power, feeling it pool deep inside him. He drew on it like pulling on a rope, tugging the length of power from where it settled naturally and drawing it upward into his lungs. With each deep breath, he could feel the tingle of power building and building. He took a final deep breath, holding it as he felt his power at near max inside his lungs. Then he released a shout, pushing out the power from his lungs. There was a certain echoing quality to his voice, but beyond that, not much else happened.

Dash laughed, making Danny's face burn brightly. "Was that it? That's all this big powerful attack is supposed to do?"

"It was good enough for a first try," Dan growled. Danny jumped when hands landed on his shoulders. "You almost had it. Focus your power more into the shout."

Danny's shoulders sagged, not feeling very confident about this new ability. But he tried again. He followed the same process as before, closing his eyes as he concentrated. As he breathed in deeply, he allowed his power to fill up every bit of space within his lungs. This was it. This was going to work. He believed that he could do it. Opening his mouth, he released a shout, but it didn't sound like a normal shout. This was loud and echoing. It made the house shake under the force of the strong sound waves. It sounded horrible, like some unearthly being screaming.

At the sound of a bang, Danny snapped his mouth shut, cutting off his attack in the middle of it. He felt weak, drained, his legs turning to jelly. His body was heavy, and he started to drop until arms caught him, two pairs of them keeping him from hitting the ground. He slumped in their arms, unable to do anything on his own at that moment.

"What was that?" Jack demanded from the top of the stairwell with one of their inventions in hand, looking for whatever threat made that noise.

"It sounded awful! Completely ghastly!" Maddie glanced around too, wielding a metal rod that looked rather ordinary but in her hands was a deadly weapon. Danny was well aware of his mother's skills as a martial artists. Even with nothing more than a long stick, she could take down a bigger, stronger foe.

Danny tried to raise his hand, smirk, make a joke, but his body simply didn't want to respond to his commands at that moment. He would have to learn to be more careful about the power he put into an attack like that. What was the point of using such a strong attack if it meant that he would pass out in the middle of a fight? If it didn't take out an opponent, Danny would be left completely defenseless and at their mercy. That was something to keep in mind if he ever needed to use that skill.

"That would be what I like to call our Ghostly Wail," Dan announced proudly, probably smirking. "Still think it's a worthless ability?" That question was definitely directed at Dash.

"We thought there was some dangerous creature down here," Maddie said, sighing in relief to know it wasn't anything worse.

"Yeah, great skill," Dash grumbled as they helped Danny up the stairs to the kitchen where he could sit at the table and rest for a while. "And you think it'll be a good thing for him to drop like a brick after using such a powerful attack?"

"He won't be alone," Dan growled back. "And it won't tire him out as much once he's learned some control over it. He put far more power than he needed to into that attack."

Once placed in the chair, Danny slumped forward, resting his head on his arms. His mother was at his side, running her fingers through his raven locks. It took Danny a moment to realize that he reverted back to normal after using up so much of his power. Concern was in her violet eyes, and behind her, Danny could see his father, looking just as worried about him.

"How are you feeling?" Maddie asked gently.

"M fine," Danny murmured, somehow finding his voice, though it sounded hoarse and raw after the vocal attack. "M tired." He managed to rub at his eyes.

"I'll make you something soothing for your throat." Maddie kissed him on the side of the head before leaving his side.

"I hope you don't plan on practicing that in the house again," Jack said, frowning severely at them. "If not for the noise, I would have thought that was an earthquake with the way the house was shaking."

"Sorry," Danny mumbled while Dan rubbed at the back of his neck, somehow managing to look abashed.


	51. Chapter 51

Days passed. Freakshow paced the room, his frustration mounting. When Lydia left him days ago under the guise of Danny, Freakshow expected her to return before nightfall to claim that the shade was dealt with and would no longer pose a problem to him. He slipped out frequently from their hideout to check on his prey, watching Danny leave his home alone. Danny left the high school alone. Occasionally, he would hang out with his friends at night but would depart and return to his home alone. Freakshow snorted at how easy it would be to pick off his prey at any of those times. He, of course, realized this could be a trap. Lydia's delay in returning made him suspicious, but the lack of the shade could mean that she at least succeeded in that respect. Freakshow gritted his teeth, realizing he needed to make his decision. He didn't work by spying on his prey. He normally lurked in the shadows, waiting on the first person to appear alone that he could lure away to feed upon, dragging them off to a place where no one would take notice of them.

But Danny was special. Freakshow bit his lower lip, feeling a hum beneath the surface of his skin simply thinking about that boy with that alluring scent that drove his sense haywire. He couldn't explain it if he tried. When he smelled Danny, it was like his most inner urges came out, and he simply had to throw the man down, forcing himself onto him to taste the sweetest, most delectable of energies he ever knew. Closing his eyes, he could almost recall the feel of that energy flowing into him, buzzing through his body, making his senses sing. He hadn't the time to fully relish it, especially the end when a life was snuffed out, the best part, before those other wretched humans interrupted. He would be sure that things were finished this time. Danny wouldn't get a third chance at life.

His fist clenching tightly in frustration, Freakshow refused to dally any longer. Lydia would be all right, he reasoned in his head. She had strong magic and would be a terror to mess with if anyone even dared. Despite his reassurances, Freakshow still couldn't erase that nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong, something happened to her. Danny came first. Once that boy was dealt with, then Freakshow would find out what happened to Lydia and they would be able to leave this stupid town. Hopefully, they would never have cause to return to Amity Park ever again.

Freakshow fingered the ruby earring, the new cloaking charm that Lydia made for him before leaving so that he could roam to the town in his natural form without drawing attention to himself, especially if a knight remained here. Leaving the hideout, he found the sky already dark with millions of stars dotting the blanket of black. He spread his wings out, and pushing off the ground, he leaped into the air, soaring about the tall buildings in this section of town. Not many people were walking around now after the sun set, probably taking heed to the warnings about a rapist murderer being town. A smirk twitched at his mouth, enjoying that sense of fear he placed within the people of this town.

It didn't take him long to reach the destination he sought. After he watched Danny for several days since Lydia put her plan into action, Freakshow learned that his prey frequented a fast food joint called Nasty Burger where, apparently, the teenagers liked to hang out with each other. He didn't see the appeal to such a place, but then he had hardly been a normal teenager.

At the age of sixteen, he was still living on the farm with his mother, oblivious to what he was, to whom his father was. He dated this one girl from the next farm over for a few weeks at that point, and they often sneaked into the barn to make out without their families ever knowing. They hadn't gone far enough to have sex yet. But when his true nature kicked in, Freakshow couldn't control his urges. One moment they were innocently fooling around. Then the next thing he knew, he had her pinned to the ground, pounding into her with wings spread out and quivering as some strange flecks floated in the air. He didn't even understand what was happening at the moment, too overwhelmed by the incubus inside him to even think straight. All he knew was that feeling of her energy flowing into him, filling some void inside him that he never could place until that moment.

Then his stupid distant cousin had to make an appearance, standing in the doorway to the barn with that idiotic fear in his eyes as he stood there motionless, watching as Freakshow finished his first ever meal as an incubus. Naturally, he threatened the younger boy, put even more fear into that small trembling form. Freakshow didn't have interest in his distant cousin, certainly didn't feel any desire to feed on him, but the threat was enough to buy the boy's silence and that was all he wanted.

Freakshow turned his attention away from his memories as he focused back on the Nasty Burger. When the doors opened, Danny stepped out with that muscled blond man behind him. Anyone looking at them from the outside could see how obviously in love they were with each other. They had that look in their eyes whenever they glanced at each other, and Danny's cheeks always had a soft coloring of pink. It was such a sickening sight that Freakshow thought he might just have to vomit when he watched them together.

He kept his distance from them as the couple walked away from the Nasty Burger, not wanting them to take notice of his presence. In two blocks, as usual, they parted ways with Dash frowning like he wanted to stay forever at Danny's side. Freakshow rolled the golden bronze eyes of his natural incubus form as Dash pulled the slighter man into his arms for a brief, tight embrace before reluctantly pulling away. That was their usual routine. Dash then walked off in one direction while Danny went the opposite way, leaving himself completely open to attack by anything nasty lurking in the shadows.

A smirk spread across his face as Freakshow crept after his unsuspecting victim. When Danny turned down a dark, deserted alley, Freakshow nearly laughed out loud at his foolishness, dimly wondering how he hadn't learned his lesson from his last venture down such a narrow pathway. Glancing over the buildings to either side of them, Freakshow saw no windows for anyone to peek out of and spy what was happening in the alley. They were perfectly alone.

Danny took his time walking home, and with a few quick, silent strides, Freakshow caught up to him midway through the alley. He reached a hand, a long nail just barely scraping down the back of the pale neck in front of him. At the ghost of a touch, Danny jumped, twisting around as he stumbled away several paces. Blue eyes flew open wide when they spotted Freakshow, who grinned even wider. Fear only made his scent that more alluring. In his presence, this close to his prey, his skin tingled and his breath came quicker. It took an enormous effort not to pounce on him in that instant.

"Did you think you were safe?" Amusement made Freakshow laugh as he watched the panic play through the man's face. When Freakshow took a step forward, closing the distance between them, something seemed to jolt Danny back to his senses. His prey spun on his feet and bolted down the alley. Freakshow snorted. "So we're playing that game again."

The chase only made the thrill of the hunt all the more enjoyable, mirroring their first encounter. Freakshow came across Danny in an alley like this one, and Danny managed to slip through his grasp, amazingly, forcing the incubus to follow or risk losing such a tasty meal. He took to the air once more, tracking the young man by flight as Danny tried to escape him. He wouldn't attack, not just yet, not while they were in the open and someone might stumble across them, not like when he was sixteen and in the barn. Thick groves of trees dotted the park that Danny ran to, and the mirroring of their first encountered only seemed to make this all feel more fitting. What better way to kill Danny than to repeat how things played out the last time? There would bring a sense of finality to it, everything at last coming full circle.

Freakshow swooped down through a cluster of trees with his prey right ahead of him. He was so close that he could practically taste Danny's energy again. His prey tripped over a loose root sticking out of the earth and hit the ground with a painful grunt. Rolling onto his back, the fear was back in Danny's bright blue eyes. Grinning madly, Freakshow dove forward, arms stretched out before him to pin Danny down to the ground, to hold that struggling body beneath him. So close. He was so very close!

Something barred his way. He hit with such a jarring force that he dropped to the ground, stunned by what happened, unable to fathom how Danny blocked him. The laughter, loud and booming, brought him back to himself, back to the reality around him. Bronze eyes narrowed furiously as another man slowly became visible, standing over him with his gloved hands on his hips. Fiery white hair flickered on top of his head, and a cruel smirk spread over his face as his red eyes glared down at the incubus lying before him.

"Shade," Freakshow growled darkly. Lydia failed him after all. Rage burned in him at that simple fact, refusing to let fear and worry for his dark witch to consume him. Not now, not when he had a possibly dangerous opponent looming over him and promising death in those hard, cold red eyes. His teeth ground so hard that they hurt and he almost thought they might crack and splinter from the pressure as he drew back his lips in a vicious snarl. The shade might stand in his way at the moment, but Freakshow refused to let such a pathetic existence stop him.

"Did _you_ really think it would be that easy?" questioned the shade in a cocky tone as Danny climbed to his feet behind his protector.

Freakshow sneered at the shade before his gaze turned to watch the movements of his prey. The sudden change of appearance startled him, though he hoped he hid it well with a look of boredom and indifference. Like that, Danny looked far too much like the shade that stood in front of him. Their costumes matched with some minor differences, the first of which being the inversion of colors. The dark raven locks that Freakshow was used to seeing on Danny faded to white while his normally blue eyes now glowed green. Freakshow could even see a physical resemblance between the two of them, like they could be siblings if one of them wasn't a shade.

"You think I'm supposed to be scared of a mere shade?" Laughing, he shook his head as he climbed to his feet. "You're basically nonexistent. I'll admit the fact that you can appear visibly before me is a bit baffling. But it doesn't change the fact that you're still basically nothing."

"He says I'm nothing." The shade smirked back at Danny, who still trembled with fear but somehow managed to steel up enough of his nerves not to run, probably because he had someone to stand up for him. "Let's how he likes being burned to nothing." He raised a hand as fire burst over his palm, lighting the trees with an eerie green glow.

"Dan, no!" Danny shouted, grabbing hold of the shade's arm, and suddenly it was like the incubus wasn't even there, wasn't even a threat to make note of. "You can't burn down the park." His green eyes glared in hard determination at the shade, who sighed and allowed his fire to be snuffed out, leaving little more than a wisp of smoke behind.

"Well, that's just no fun then," Dan grumbled in disappointment.

Freakshow's eye was twitching as the pair blatantly ignored his presence. He would show them to take him as an actual threat then leave them both dead in the park. When the incubus moved to attack, sharp long nails extended to pierce through flesh, the shade immediately shoved Danny away with a quick warning of, "Stay back!" Danny stumbled out of the way, falling into a stance that said he was ready to fight if he had to, though fear still shone in his green eyes.

The shade ducked the swipe of Freakshow's claws, and the incubus growled in frustration. Freakshow didn't have time to react when a hand pressed against his chest. A snort of derision almost escaped him, thinking little of the action until a blast of green energy slammed into his chest, point blank, sending him flying into the air. He landed on his back with a grunt as the air was forced out of his lungs.

"He doesn't seem that tough," the shade commented, not sounding very impressed.

His jaw clenched as Freakshow regained his breath, ignoring the searing sensation across his chest where that energy blast struck him. He didn't expect the shade to be capable of such an attack. Climbing into a crouch, he narrowed his eyes at the shade, who turned his back on him to gloat to Danny. That further annoyed Freakshow, who didn't like being treated like he was an insignificant fly buzzing around without much notice. His tail made its quiet way toward the shade, unseen by the pair, not even on their radar until it was too late. It wrapped around Dan's leg, and with a hard yank as he twisted his body around, Freakshow swung the shade, crashing him through the trees before releasing him, sending him flying away.

"Well, well," Freakshow said tauntingly as he stood up straight again. "It seems shades aren't all they're cracked up to be after all." He turned half a smirk onto Danny, who gulped fearfully as the incubus stalked closer to him. "And now you're all alone again." He reached out a hand, scraping a nail along the underside of Danny's chin. "This little costume of yours might make you look like a superhero, but you're still nothing more than a scared little boy." He curled his finger, the tip of nail nicking the edge of Danny's chin to produce a small droplet of blood.

"I'm not scared of you," Danny said, his teeth clenched tightly as he spoke, trying to keep his voice from wavering. His eyes were hard with determination, but he couldn't erase his fear.

"But who's going to save you now?" Freakshow laughed as he grabbed hold of Danny. The young man was so defenseless at that moment without the shade to guard him.

"I," Danny clamped his eyes shut, brow knitted, "can save myself!"

Ice coated his hands suddenly. Freakshow snapped back, yanking his hands free with enough force to shatter the ice. His golden bronze eyes stayed in disbelief at his prey as he rubbed it his hands, burning strangely from the cold. Danny glared at him, and Freakshow frowned at the confidence on his face. So the little brat had some powers of his own, but that didn't mean he could stand against the incubus. Even with that mask of confidence on, inside Danny was still afraid. Freakshow simply needed to play to that fear.

Danny stood his ground when Freakshow took a step closer to him. A glance to the young man's hands showed a silvery blue aura as he prepared to use his ice powers again. Not quite scared yet then. Wings unfurled, extending outward with the slightest of quivers to release a hint of his pheromones. That got the reaction the incubus was looking for. The aura vanished from Danny's hands as he stepped back with a quick intake of breath. Freakshow chuckled lowly, knowing that holding his breath wouldn't do anything to stop the pheromones from affecting the man since they didn't need to be inhaled to work.

"You can't escape me," Freakshow said, almost cooing at the frightened man like his soothing voice would keep Danny rooted firmly where he stood, allowing the incubus the chance to finish what he started eight months ago. He stepped closer, grin stretching across his face when his prey remained frozen before him.

Danny shook his head, white hair flopping about at the movement. Some look other than fear entered his eyes, driving away the terror that held him, and the incubus stopped moving when he saw it, trying to determine what was going through his prey's head. When Danny opened his mouth, Freakshow thought it would be to protest, a laughable attempt to act brave, to show some sign of having the spine that the man lacked.

"No!" Danny shouted, but it came out as something else, something that Freakshow hardly expected, could never have predicted. The wave of sound slammed into him, driving him backward into a tree. The incubus couldn't even breathe as each wave hit him, and the force made the tree crack, somehow the sound of the trunk splintering and breaking reaching to his ears over the awful, ghastly sound of Danny's shout, though somehow the tree didn't fall.

The noise continued ringing in his ears even after Danny's mouth snapped shut. His strength failed him as Freakshow pitched forward onto the ground where he lay unmoving. Danny staggered a few paces closer to him before dropping to his knees, looking far too drained to be able to do anything more. Some sound reached him over the ringing, though it was much too muffled and drowned out to identify what it was. Freakshow tried to move, force any part of his body to push him up off the ground, but he could barely even make his eyes blink.

A white booted foot with black shin guards appeared before his eyes, blocking out Freakshow's view of Danny. He could hear the conversation, but he couldn't make out their words. Hands took hold of his wings as a foot pressed onto his back. He couldn't understand what was happening, tried to crane his head around to get a look at what the shade was doing, but he still couldn't find the strength to move. Then the ripping came, painful, agonizing tearing at his back. Freakshow screamed, for the first time that he could remember ever crying out. He was afraid. He was terrified. They were ripping away something from his back, and somehow it wiggled into his brain that it was his wings. They were tearing off his wings! His wings were the source of his pheromones, and without them, he couldn't force arousal from his victims. But he couldn't do anything to stop it, and that made the whole experience worse, more terrifying, more agonizing. Then there was darkness, the pain far too overwhelming to stay conscious any longer.


	52. Chapter 52

It happened too fast. He didn't even notice that the incubus had a freaking tail! His mind failed to recall how to turn his body intangible in that moment, and each time his head slammed into a tree as he was spun around made it even harder to think of what to do. Dan rubbed at his aching head as he sat up, feeling like some four hundred pound purple back gorilla was beating on his head like conga drums. Perhaps he was a little too cocky about his skills. For all the training he did alone in the dark realm, for all the strength that he built up in preparation to kick some ass, Dan had never actually participated in a real fight. He could go through the motions in his head, pretend to predict his opponents moves, but it wasn't the same as facing off against someone for real. Fighting a mental simulation didn't give him any clue about how painful it could be when he got throw around like some stupid ragdoll carelessly tossed away by some bratty five year old.

But he could dwell on the humiliation later. Right now, the important thing was Danny, who was now alone with that dick head of an incubus. Dan taught Danny everything that he could think of in preparation for facing off against the incubus. But he realized now that teaching him how to use his powers didn't equate to knowing how to fight, and it certainly didn't erase the fear that would freeze Danny to his core, making him easy prey for the incubus.

Dan pushed himself to his feet only to drop to one knee as pain shot up his right leg, the leg that the incubus' tail grabbed before swinging him around and throwing him through the trees. Gritting his teeth, he looked down over his leg, finding his shin guard slashed and greenish blood flecked with red oozing from where the tail carved into his flesh. His head was still aching, and he contributed that to the fact that he didn't notice the pain in his leg at first. Reaching up, he undid the cape from his shoulders. He wouldn't be much help in a fight if he left the injury unattended and bled out as a result. He quickly fashioned his cape into bandages and dressed the wound, tying the cloth tightly around his leg. When he stood again, his leg still screamed in agony, but he couldn't allow the wound to distract him. He needed to get back to Danny and save him before the incubus could hurt him more than it already had.

Flying seemed the best course of action since he wouldn't have to put any weight on his injured leg that way. Floating several inches off the ground with a determined and furious expression twisted upon his face, Dan shot forward, flying through the trees back toward where Danny was, alone. He could kick himself for allowing Danny to be in such a situation! He was supposed to protect Danny, and he fouled that job up rather nicely with his big headed ego.

He was almost there, could see Danny standing frozen with the incubus right in front of him. Dan's heart hammered in his chest, fearing what would happen to Danny if he didn't make it there on time. Self loathing swept through him, eating him up inside, as he imagined Danny's face with the terror and pain of having the incubus violating him for a second time. Dan clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to allow that to happen.

Then the horrible sound of the Ghostly Wail reached him. Immediately, his hands clapped over his ears as he threw up the strongest energy field he could around him to cancel out the sound wave attack. Through squinted eyes, Dan watched the attack drive the incubus away from Danny. A smirk slipped onto his face, and he almost laughed at the incubus' inability to fight against the Wail, to even attempt escaping the wide range of the sound waves. He was glad he thought to teach Danny that skill, though he wasn't completely sure at the time that Danny would be able to do it as well. It was meant as a last resort, knowing Danny would probably be too weak after using it to do anything more. But against the incubus, against the thing that violated him, against the thing that haunted his dreams, the thing that made him panic and shy away from anyone's touch, Danny probably made the right move using the Ghostly Wail. With how close the incubus was before the attack started, Dan doubted that foul creature would be able to stand afterward.

When it ended, the park was filled with an eerie silence, reminding Dan far too much of the dark realm when only he lived there. He touched down tentatively on the ground, dropping the energy field that shielded him from the attack. The thumps of bodies hitting the ground was a welcoming sound, if only to prove that sound still existed. He rushed forward the rest of the distance. The incubus lay face down on the ground while the tree he slammed into looked one hard shove away from being knocked over with a resounding crash. Danny knelt a few feet away, a sheen of sweat upon his brow as he breathed heavily with a waned look on his face. It was doubtful that he could do much more than kneel there without collapsing from exhausting himself. He reverted back to normal before Dan arrived, a clear sign that he didn't have the strength to fight anymore.

"How are you?" Dan questioned as he placed himself between Danny and the incubus, hoping that blocking his sight would help drive away any panic inside Danny.

"I stopped," Danny said, managing a partial grin as his voice sounded hoarse. "I stopped before it could completely drain me." He sounded a little too proud of that fact, but it was indeed an improvement from their last try at teaching him to use the Ghostly Wail. If they had more time, he might have learned to use that attack without tiring himself out so much.

"Well, at least you managed to take down this scum as well." Dan turned back to the incubus, still laying unmoving next to him. Grabbing hold of the wings, he pressed his injured foot on the incubus' back between the shoulder blades from where his wings sprouted.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked warily, concern creeping into his voice.

When he glanced over, Dan found bright blue eyes narrowing at him. "His wings produce the pheromones," he reminded Danny of what he already knew from firsthand experience. "Remove the wings, and he has no means of forcing his victims to feel arousal when he rapes them." That seemed to set Danny back, reminding him of why they were fighting the incubus in the first place as his face paled.

Dan turned back to the task at hand. He pulled on the wings, using his foot as leverage as he ripped the appendages from the incubus' body. Screams rang out as the agonizing pain tore through the incubus, regaining enough movement in his body to curl his fingers, digging long nails into the soft dirt. Blood oozed from where the wings were removed. He didn't care enough to count how long the screaming went on for, but at some point, just before he finally tore the wings completely free, the incubus fell silent, his body limp against the ground, completely dead to the world. The temptation to kill the incubus came over him as he tossed away the now useless leathery wings. But Dan managed to squash it down enough to resist it. The vampire wanted the incubus alive to live out his sentence in the council's prison.

Silence filled the park again until a whirring noise jerked both Dan and Danny's heads around toward the noise.

 

Something was definitely wrong. That was a fact he knew for the past few days. He could see it in the way people act around him, like they knew something that he didn't, like there was some big secret they were keeping from him, not wanting him to know the truth. His jaw clenched tightly, and he resisted the urge to shift his arm into a plasma ray gun and start firing randomly at the tree in the park. Even if none of the humans knew what caused the destruction of the trees, Skulker knew that blasted vampire would realize who the culprit was, and the alien preferred not to have Masters on his back about something stupid like blowing up the park. His green eyes narrowed as they swept around the park, knowing the Warden Walker would be lurking around keeping watch over him too. For the most part, Walker left him be, not involving himself in Skulker's life unless he did something that broke the rules in some way.

Noise to the east caught his ear, and Skulker frowned as he looked in that direction, wondering who else was in the park at that late hour and why they would be there. His feet moved before he thought about it, reacting to the subconscious thought of needing to find out more, needing to learn all the information he could to lord over people later, knowing the proper buttons to push to get a reaction out of someone, to break down their mental walls and leave them a quivering mass of fear. A smirk crept across his face, recalling some distant rush of superiority at that thought, though he couldn't remember what brought up that feeling, who he would have broken down in such a manner. He scowled at the frustration of that, yet another mystery that he couldn't seem to unravel.

He halted several feet away, hidden in the shadows, unnoticed by the two people before him. They were too involved in their own conversation to care about their surroundings. Skulker's brow creased in curious confusion at the man before him with the snow white hair that looked familiar though he couldn't seem to quite place him. His green eyes took in the lean, slender form under the black and white costume, the pale flesh of his neck and the familiar curve of his jaw line, the unusual glow of his green eyes. His mouth thinned as he ran through all the people he met in Amity Park, trying to match up this strange man with an image of every face he knew. It almost seemed laughable that anyone from this pathetic town would match up with the unknown man. He could only think of two people with hair matching the white of this man, but they were much older while this man looked only around eighteen.

But then he got a hit. Skulker blinked, overlaying his mental image of Daniel Fenton over this man's face. Ignoring the mask and the change of hair and eye color, Danny matched identically with the face of this man. He almost laughed out loud, almost unable to believe that a powerless, average human was running around like some sort of superhero. But the amusement died inside him when the creature before Danny grabbed hold of him. He adjusted his hearing to pick up their words.

"I can save myself!" Danny argued with forced determination as the creature stumbled away. The ice that suddenly coated the creature's hands shattered quickly, but Skulker's brain paused at that, freezing up like it was struck with the same chilly blast that jerked the creature away from Danny.

Ice powers? Cryokinesis? Something about that wiggled around inside his head. He remembered something about that, but it was like the knowledge was locked away, unreachable no matter how hard he tried to grasp at it. White hair. Ice that froze. Fist shaped. Why was this making him remember something? It was so tantalizingly close! Skulker focused his mind on it until it felt like his brain would overheat and shut down.

It was like a bolt of electricity surging through his body. Danny had weird cryokinesis skills, but they weren't normal. _He_ wasn't normal. His skin was like ice, and his hair changed color when he activated his cryokinesis. The witch tried to keep it secret, but his responses to Skulker's prodding gave it all away. Danny was someone that he wanted to add to his collection. And, Skulker glanced toward the creature with its wings outstretched as a slight quiver ran through them, Danny was raped and killed by an incubus. His green eyes narrowed dangerously at the incubus, vowing death to the creature that would seek to take his prey away from him.

He remembered now, recalled what happened. That blasted witch and that wretched technopath! His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he realized the little plan they concocted against him. They finally realized that being a creature made up mostly of technology that his brain wasn't like theirs, that his brain was similar to a computer and capable of being hacked if one knew how to do it, which Technus clearly did. Next time he saw them - Skulker shook that idea out of his mind. If he hurting the students would land him with a worse sentence, he was certain killing the teachers, who all worked for the council, would definitely land him in a cell for the rest if his life, if not something worse.

The sudden, ghastly scream that tore from Danny's mouth yanked Skulker out of his thoughts. The alien cringed, clapping his hands over his ears as he quickly adjusted them to lower the volume of what he heard. He couldn't even fathom how Danny could learn something like that, how the force of his scream could knock back the incubus, how the sound wave had enough power to make the tree start to crack. All he could do at that moment was stand numbly as he watched what took place between Danny and the incubus.

It wasn't until both Danny and the incubus dropped that Skulker realized the attack came to an end. Sound returned to his ears as he readjusted the volume level now that he wasn't under threat of damage from that terrible wailing noise that Danny produced. He would need to be cautious of such an attack later when the time came to capture Danny for his collection. But, he smirked as he stared at the man now back to his normal appearance, it seemed that Danny wasted all his energy in that attack. So long as he avoided taking damage when Danny used it, Skulker would have an easy time collecting his prey.

But for now, Skulker's attention turned to the fallen incubus. He sneered, eyes narrowing as lips pulled back in a snarl. His first task would be to remove the threat of the incubus from touching his prey ever again. He took a step but halted as another figure came into view. The sight of this man made Skulker stand up straight as his brow creased yet again, not recognizing this man with the weird fiery white hair. Whoever he was, Skulker didn't like the familiarity with which he talked to Danny. The rage coursing through him at the fiery haired man only quelled when screams filled the air, forcing his attention to what was happening between the man and the incubus.

That was it? Skulker ground his teeth as he watched the man toss aside the wings of the incubus, who fell quiet, too overwhelmed by the pain to keep conscious. His arm automatically shifted into a plasma ray gun as he scowled at the man. That disgusting incubus violated Danny, his prey, and all they planned to do to him was rip off his stupid wings like that somehow negated the incubus' past transgressions. How they could just let the incubus live after the violation it caused to Danny was beyond Skulker's reasoning.

His arm raised, the gun whirring to life as he took aim. Skulker would not allow the threat to remain alive, would not allow the incubus to have another chance to take away his prey. Even that stupid council wouldn't object to his actions if it was to prevent harm to one of Masters' charges. His eyes narrowed at the incubus as he fired the blast. The two of them, the strange man and Danny, remained numbly where they were as the blast raced through the air toward the incubus.

"No!" Danny shouted, suddenly launching into action. Everything slowed as Danny rose to his feet, throwing his body forward. Skulker's mouth dropped open as a flash of horror shot up his spine. The blast struck Danny's side, the right hip, tearing a strangled shout from Danny as he hit the ground. His shaky hands hovered over the injury, the fabric of his jeans and the hem of his shirt blasted away, blood seeping out from the layers of torn flesh and muscle.

Skulker was too stunned by the action, by what just happened truly meant, that he couldn't even react when the fiery haired man appeared before him. The punch was hard, hitting him square in the face with a resounding crack of what would be bone if he was human. Skulker hit the ground, fluid dripping from his nose while the man remained standing above him, fist clenched painfully tight as he glared down with dark red eyes. The anger and hatred would be chilling, if Skulker wasn't distracted by the fact that he just gave the council reason to lock him away for good.

"That's enough, Dan." Masters' irritating voice was recognizable even if Skulker couldn't see the vampire in his range of vision. Skulker ground his teeth, fingers digging into the ground. Masters, of course, would show up the first moment that Danny was seriously injured. Bony hands grabbed hold of his arms, yanking Skulker to his feet, because Walker would be there as well, of course.

"You're going to be all right, Danny," Lancer said in his usual concerned but calm and controlled voice when he was trying to keep a student from completely panicking.

The fiery haired man, Dan, glowered darkly at Skulker one last time before he turned to walk over to Danny's side where the witch was already examining the injury to Danny's right hip. Behind them, two men in white suits dealt with the incubus, shackling his arms and legs. Skulker recognized them from when he first arrived on this planet. The Guys in White, the dogs of the council, a squadron of pure humans that hunted down the supernatural that broke the council laws.

"I can't heal this here," Lancer announced, turning his gaze to Masters. "I can help it along, clot the bleeding, but he'll be better off in the hospital with doctors for this."

Masters glanced over his student's injury and nodded curtly. "Do that," he ordered, not wanting to see his student suffer any further injury. "Dan," he turned to the fiery haired man, "you're free to accompany them if you like." From the crinkle around his eyes and the ghost of a smirk, Masters no doubt knew that Dan would want to go with them. "Now for you." Masters turned to Skulker while the two men and Danny vanished with a sharp popping sound.

"Yeah," Skulker muttered with a sneer, already knowing what was coming. "Off to meet with the council."


	53. Chapter 53

The pain was more than he expected when he forced his exhausted body to move. Screaming. Screaming was the usual response to the searing pain in his hip, to the sight of flesh ripped open. But his mind blanked, completely. He couldn't seem to do anything beyond staring, mouth gaping open at his wound. His hands shook madly, hovering over where the plasma ray from Skulker's gun struck him. Somewhere in his head, he wondered what possessed him to think of jumping in the way of that attack, why he would ever take this kind of damage simply to stop the alien from killing the incubus that violated him.

There were people around him, that much he was aware of, people that were talking, making a fuss. But he couldn't process what they were saying or even what was happening beyond the pain in his hip. It wasn't nearly as bad as when the incubus ripped him open to die with his guts spilling out of him. But having died once didn't numb him completely from all pain, and it certainly didn't make getting shot in the hip feel like anything more than excruciating.

Then the pain was fading, his eyelids growing far too heavy to remain open. With the harsh bright light overhead, closing his eyes seemed like a good idea to avoid the stabbing pain of that light piercing into his eyeballs. His consciousness was slipping, hearing only faint mumbles of the people around him. The last thing that he was fully aware of was the hand gripping his tightly, comfortingly, wanting to keep him safe from the enclosing darkness.

The mumbling voices were still there when he woke, hand squeezing around the one that he held. His brow creased as he struggled to open his eyes. The shades on the windows were drawn shut and the light in the room was dim, thankfully. He recognized the room as a hospital immediately, the pristine white walls and stiff bed on which he rested cluing him in to his location. The pain was dulled but still somewhat there, and he guessed a lot of pain meds contributed to him not being in the immense pain that he remembered before falling unconscious.

His vision was still a little blurry, and he couldn't fully make out the face before him beyond blue eyes and blond hair. He thought maybe the person smiled, but he couldn't quite tell. Squinting his eyes, trying to focus his sight, took some time before he could make out Dash's face. He blinked a few times, trying puzzle out what Dash was doing here, though waking up with Dash's face being the first thing he saw was a nice experience.

"Hey," Danny said, his voice sounding hoarse and weak and barely more than a whisper.

Dash sighed in immense relief, lifting the hand he held to his forehead as he bowed his head. "You had us all scared, Danny." A hint of anger slipped into his voice, but mostly he sounded overjoyed that Danny was awake and alive.

Danny blinked at him before slowly turning his head. His parents were there at the other side of the hospital bed, both happy to see that Danny would be okay. With his arms fold, Dan stood beside Dash. He was in his human disguise, and Danny guessed that was because they were in the hospital. Lancer was there as well, sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed.

"How did?" Danny reached up a hand to rub a hand over his face, his brain not fully awake enough to piece together anything at the moment.

"Lancer called us after he brought you here," Jack explained as he rest a large hand on Danny's shoulder, offering some comfort to his son.

Maddie sat on the edge of the bed, picking up the hand that Dash wasn't currently holding. "He and Dan told us about the encounter with the incubus." She squeezed his hand, worry in her violet eyes for what her son must have felt facing off against the incubus that raped him.

"What were you thinking?" Dash demanded, not in a harsh tone, though it was clear he was restraining himself, reigning in his rage. "You could have been killed jumping in like that!"

Danny blinked at the telepath a few times before his gaze drifted to Dan then finally to Lancer. "But," he started as he yanked his gaze back to Dash, "now Skulker won't be a threat to anyone." He tried a tentative smile, though he doubted it would help to calm any of Dash's anger at such a foolish action.

Dash's mouth hung open, and for a moment, Danny thought he would reach out and give him a hard shake. But the telepath hung his head with a tired sigh. "You should have been more careful," he mumbled, and when he met Danny's gaze, there was pain in his dark blue eyes. "That blast could have hit you in a fatal spot instead of the hip."

"It was a stupid, reckless move," Dan agreed, his mouth tight and teeth clenched. His fingers flexed, gripping his biceps tightly. Danny could tell that the shade was kicking himself for failing to protect his charge.

"What is this about a stalker and not being a threat?" Jack questioned, his brow furrowing with his confusion.

"Skulker," Lancer corrected, "is an alien. He took notice of your son's unique condition and wanted to make him part of his collection."

"What?" Jack and Maddie shouted, outraged by the very notion.

"It's okay," Danny assured them, smiling for what little it was worth. "He broke a major condition to his punishment when his attack hit me. That should keep him locked up for good now. Right?" He turned a questioning look to his teacher, hoping his action wasn't for nothing, despite that he hadn't fully realized the consequence of throwing himself between Skulker and the incubus when he did it.

Lancer nodded his head with a thoughtful look. "I do believe that will be sufficient for the council to take action." He stood up and walked around to stand on the other side of Dash. "But I believe we should try to avoid you drawing any more dangerous creatures to you."

"What do you mean?" Danny eyed his teacher warily.

"There's something natural about you that seems to lure in the supernatural," Lancer explained with a frown on his face as he smoothed a hand over his bearded chin. "It's why you caught the incubus' eye. It's why you've been attacked so often by the supernatural. You're like a magnet, though I can't explain why or how that happened. I can, perhaps, help to negate that effect. Cancel out that magnetism so that you can at least live a relatively normal life without fearing something coming after you again."

Danny considered that, and it didn't take much effort to come up with an answer. While Sam might enjoy hunting down some big bad evil every week, Danny was bone tired exhausted from dealing with the supernatural for the vast majority of his life. A break from being chased after at every turn sounded like a godsend to him. Danny nodded his head in response. "Can you make one for Jazz too?" he asked hopefully. "The incubus said she had a similar scent." He frowned, lowering his eyes. "I don't want something coming after her too." His sister clearly didn't have that same draw that Danny had, but even being slightly similar to him could put her in danger.

"Of course," Lancer agreed easily. "Now, I believe we should let him rest. The witches at this hospital are very good at healing, but with the extent of his injury, he still needs to take it easy for a few days."

Danny blinked dumbly at his teacher. "Witches?" he repeated like it was word he never heard.

"Well of course!" Lancer grinned at his student's confusion. "If they have a school set up for teaching the supernatural, why wouldn't the council have a medical facility set up specifically to deal with injuries and illnesses involving the supernatural?"

When he thought about that, Danny realized it made sense. There was such a large community of supernatural here. The council, of course, would want to be certain that they could be cared for should they be hurt or fall sick. Lancer ushered out the reluctant parents, telepath, and shade from the hospital room, leaving Danny alone in the dim light to fall back to sleep. Danny thought it would take longer after everything that happened, but he slipped back to sleep easily the moment he snuggled down into his pillow.

 

Vlad hated making visits to the council headquarters. When he finally had the chance to leave and take up the position of principal for Casper High in Amity Park, he hoped never to have to walk the halls of the headquarters again. If not for the current alien situation, he could be happily back there, peacefully overseeing the high school and making sure no harm befell his students. He clenched his hands into tight fists as he stared at the man across the table from him, dressed in a white suit and his head shaved of any hint hair other than his eyebrows. This dark skinned man was a member of the Guys in White, an organization of pure humans devoted to hunting down supernatural lawbreakers. They did their job well, Vlad wouldn't argue with that, but they were sticklers for cleanliness. The interrogation room they sat in now lacked even a speck of dirt from what he could tell. The stale gray walls and lack of windows reminded Vlad far too much of the cell he was holed up in for six months. The major difference being that this room was a lot more spacious. He vaguely wondered how that green skinned witch was enjoying her cramped little cage. She still refused to give them her name, though Vlad wouldn't put it pass the council to have some way of prying the information out of her.

"According to the conditions of his sentencing here on Earth," said the agent, L or K or F - Vlad wasn't really certain of his name. The agents all tended to blur together in his head with them all dressing and looking mostly identical. Vlad decided he would simply refer to this one as Agent Mole, because he had a little mole over the right side of his mouth. "Skulker would be sentenced to a cell within our prison should he cause harm to any of the students under the care of Principal Vlad Masters of Casper High School in Amity Park."

"We know the condition," Vlad interrupted impatiently as his mouth thinned. He wanted to return to the high school. It might run perfectly fine without him for a day, but he didn't want to stay away from it for more than that.

Agent Mole narrowed his brown eyes at the vampire before he continued. "However," he bit out before straightening up and staring perfectly ahead of him again, "from the reports, it sounds like Skulker's intention was to kill the incubus known by Frederich Showenhower, now permanently locked away for his past actions of raping and killing over the past six years. Your student was only injured due to his own folly of jumping in the way."

Vlad's jaw clenched tightly, restraining himself from doing something he might regret. "Daniel's actions are not what this meeting is about," he said evenly. "Daniel is a rare soul with a great amount of compassion and believes in giving people second chances. Despite that the incubus raped and killed him previously, he still acted to keep Skulker from taking that same incubus' life. He did not act to protect that incubus because he thought somehow the incubus would magically change his way and repent from the sins he performed in the past against Daniel, himself, and many others. Daniel acted because he doesn't believe that killing is a justifiable answer to the incubus' crimes. The incubus was already down and incapacitated. Killing him was unnecessary."

"While that may be true, that doesn't change the fact that Skulker did not intentionally attempt to harm your student," Agent Mole argued.

"The condition did not state in any way that intent was necessary." Vlad slammed his hand down hard on the table between them as his dark blue eyes narrowed dangerously. He would _not_ allow Skulker to walk free after injuring Daniel like that. He would _not_ allow the alien the chance to escape and steal away with both Daniel and Kwan. This was the moment. This was what he waited for in the last three years, and he wouldn't let Daniel's sacrifice, however reckless, be wasted. "Regardless of intent, Skulker could have killed Daniel with that attack. We wouldn't even be having this discussion if that were the case."

"When the condition was included, there might have been an implied understanding of intent behind Skulker's action should he harm one of the students at Casper High," Walker said, and Vlad felt a cold trickle of dread down his spine, wondering why the Necravion would speak to free Skulker. "However, there was no verbal communication that intent to harm was a necessary factor in imposing a stricter sentencing upon Skulker. The fact remains that Skulker attacked and his attack struck a student under Masters' watch. That act violated the oath, the condition. You can try to twist it around a technicality, but it doesn't change the fact that Skulker put a student in the hospital with a serious injury. Skulker knew of the consequences of harming one of the students at Casper High." Walker shook his head. "I'm baffled that you're even trying to make a case for his release. He's too dangerous an alien to be allowed to wander free. He poses a threat to at least two people of your planet. Yet you would wish him to be let go?"

Agent Mole bristled at that question. "It's not a matter of what I want," he argued, spitting as he spoke in frustration. "There are rules to follow. We have to make sure that everything is properly done to avoid embarrassment later should anyone argue our actions. You don't want the people of Cyonetic coming here and arguing that we wrongly punished one of their own, do you?"

"No," Walker agreed, "I wouldn't. But they have no room to argue when Skulker broke the oath and condition set to allow his sentencing on this planet. His guilt in unquestionable."

Agent Mole clenched his teeth, brown eyes narrowing, as his hands crumpled the papers before him. "I suppose I must agree. Skulker shall be sentenced according to what was laid out in agreement by all parties involved. You are both dismissed. A witch will be standing by to return you to Casper High." His eyes landed on Vlad, and he sneered at the vampire. Despite working alongside the supernatural to maintain peace and order, many of the Guys in White despised the supernatural.

Vlad returned the look with a glare as he followed Walker out of the interrogation room. He was sure that Walker was just as happy about being able to return to his home planet as Vlad was about returning to his school.

 

"I can't believe I ruined it!" Danny whined as Desiree fixed his hair. His face burned brightly at the memory of stumbling during the dancing scene of the play. When he tripped and fell, yanking Dash down on top of him, the audience broke into laugh, though a few of the students let out whistles and catcalls, which only made Danny blush all the more at the memory of the compromising position they landed in when they fell.

"It was great!" Paulina insisted with a wide grin on her face. "Don't worry about it too much. The audience loved it!"

Somehow, that didn't really make Danny feel any better about botching up the dance sequence. But at least the play was almost over with only one more quick scene. Then once the play was over, he could relax for the final three weeks of school before graduation. The past few months were quite peaceful after the threat of the incubus was eliminated and Skulker was locked up in the council prison. The time flew by before he knew it, being able to focus entirely on his studies and still have time to hang out with friends and to train with Dan. He might not have anyone to fight against now that the incubus and Skulker were gone, but it was still good to train to better control his powers. He smiled remembering when he and Dan showed off what they could do with manipulating fire and ice for his parents, and Jazz when she returned from college for the summer.

His family, Dan, his friends; they were all sitting in the audience watching him make a complete fool of himself in this play. He sighed as Desiree and Paulina pulled him to his feet. At least his hip had healed relatively quickly. Even the doctors at the council's hospital here were surprised by how quickly it healed, leaving only a faint scar behind to show that he even received the injury. Lancer thought perhaps it had something to do with the exchange that took place during the ritual. During the fight with Frederich, Dan injured his leg, and from what Danny was told later, it looked fairly deep at the beginning. Dan's leg healed up in a matter of days though, but no scar was left behind on him. Danny may have gained extra healing capability, but it didn't stop him from being left with scars.

"You're on," Paulina whispered urgently, nudging Danny onto the stage.

He stumbled forward, his hand unconsciously wrapping around the crystal pendant that he constantly wore ever since Lancer gave it to him. The pendant was meant to protect him from his natural magnetism drawing dangerous supernatural creatures to him. If he could find his sister somewhere in the audience, hidden in the darkness of the theater, he would see Jazz wearing the same type of crystal pendant. Jazz thought it was silly, didn't believe she needed the protection when the only supernatural being that approached her with malicious intent was that incubus, but at Danny's firm insistence, she relented and donned the pendant.

"My love," Dash said, drawing Danny from his thoughts as he caught the raven haired man's hand and pulled him closer.

Danny scrambled to remember his lines before he made another embarrassing slipup. "At last," he said, wincing when his voice cracked, "my parents no longer object to our union." He stared up lovingly at Dash, and it wasn't difficult to act like he was madly in love with the blond man.

Dash cupped a hand over Danny's cheek. "The witches have convinced my parents that the union between us will provide great prosperity to both our kingdoms. They've given their blessing for us to wed."

Danny flushed. Even without his slipups, this play was horribly embarrassing to act out in front the whole school and his family. He could imagine Dan fuming in his seat next to Jazz at having to watch all these lovey dovey scenes between Danny and Dash. Dan would be even more angry with this final scene. Dash's arm slipped around Danny's waist, drawing them flushed against each other as Dash leaned his head down to seal their lips together in a kiss. Danny tensed at the first touch of lips against his own. Even months later after facing off against the incubus, Danny still couldn't relax over something as simple as a kiss. But he was getting better. The first time Dash kissed him in rehearsal for the play, Danny accidentally froze the telepath's mouth. Luckily, most of the people in the theater at the time were supernatural so the incident didn't cause any big commotion.

Applause exploded from the audience as the curtain closed on the pair of Princes.

"You two were amazing!" Paulina squealed when the two men broke apart. She threw her arms around their necks, hugging them in her excitement at the close of a successful play.

The rest of the actors were already filing onto the stage, preparing for the final bow when the curtain rose again. They had little time to speak before Paulina pushed herself between them, grabbing hold of their hands and raising them into the air. Desiree made certain to be on Danny's other side, grabbing hold of his free hand to avoid anyone that wasn't already in the know from discovering the icy feel of Danny's skin. When the curtains went up, the audience was still applauding the performance while the cast all took their bows.

There was an after party for everyone that took part in the play backstage. Dora arranged for snacks and drinks so that they could all relax and celebrate after the play was finished. Danny only stayed for about twenty minutes before it all felt too much for him, too many people all cramped into the backstage area. After a quick change into normal clothing, Danny slipped out and found a nice quiet spot to relax in the dark hallways of the school. By then most of the people that came to see the play had already left with only a few lingering members wandering the hallways toward the parking lot.

"You okay?" Dash's voice jolted Danny out of his blank state.

"Yeah." Danny lifted his head to stare at Dash, following the telepath's movements as he took a seat beside the raven haired man. "I just needed some air."

Dash nodded in understanding. "Where's your shadow?"

Danny rolled his eyes at that question. "I saw Cogsworth dragging him off after the play ended." With a sigh, he let his body slide over to lean against Dash, resting his head on the blond man's shoulder. When his parents first told him about the move to Amity Park, he was upset with them. He didn't want to go through the stigma of being a new student again. Now, embarrassing performance in a play ignored, he was immensely happy that they made the move. He doubted that he would still be alive if they were still living in Wisconsin. If Frederich came after him there, Danny didn't think Sam's magic would work to revive him a second time, and that would be assuming that Dan didn't take control his body first.

"What's on your mind?"

Danny glanced up at the question, and a grin tugged at his mouth. "Can't read my thoughts?"

Dash flicked him on the forehead, but it wasn't hard enough to really hurt him. "You've gotten better at not broadcasting so loudly." He frowned with a hint of worry in his dark blue eyes. "But you looked like you were deep in thought."

Danny shook his head against Dash's shoulder. "I was just thinking how much better my life became since I moved here." He grinned up at the telepath, but there was hesitation in him. He chewed on his lower lip, his heart skipping a beat, but he couldn't tell if it was because of excitement or fear or a mix of both. His head tilted upward, halting every few seconds. Dash didn't say anything or laugh, merely waiting on Danny to get the courage to do whatever he was trying to do.

It was so much easier on stage when Dash was the one initiating the kiss. Here, alone in the hallway, with him being the one trying to kiss the other, Danny found it difficult to close those last few centimeters between their lips. The memory of the rape kept making him stop, fear seizing him at the thought of being intimately touched by another. But this was Dash. He was nice and caring and understanding and patient. He wouldn't force Danny into anything that he wasn't ready for. Maybe some part of him still believed it was too soon, but Danny wanted to be able to kiss Dash freely. Taking a deep breath, Danny closed his eyes as he pressed forward, crushing their lips together.

Dash smiled into the kiss, reaching up a hand to thread his fingers through raven locks. Danny relaxed somewhat, though his muscles still remained tense. It wasn't a perfect kiss, but it was getting better. Slowly, but still moving forward with each small step.


End file.
